Publications by authors named "Pedrosa D"

Introduction: People with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) experience a wide range of motor and non-motor symptoms that have a significant impact on their health and quality of life. Effective care management for PwPD involves monitoring symptoms at home, involving specialised multidisciplinary care providers and enhancing self-management skills. This study protocol describes the process evaluation within a randomised clinical trial to assess the implementation and its impact on patient health outcomes of ParkProReakt-a proactive, multidisciplinary, digitally supported care model for community-dwelling PwPD.

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Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a rare autoimmune disease most frequently characterized by a neuromyelitis optica (NMO) phenotype, comprising both simultaneous or sequential optic neuritis (ON) and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM). Symptoms of brainstem, diencephalic and cerebral involvement may also occur. While most NMOSD patients test positive for serum aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibodies, some seronegative patients test positive for oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-IgG (MOG-IgG).

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Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) often leads to gait abnormalities, increasing the risk of falls and affecting daily life. Sensorimotor insoles aim to enhance foot sensitivity, potentially improving gait stability.

Methods: This study examined whether there are short-term effects of sensorimotor insoles on neural activation (measured by EEG), kinematic gait parameters (speed, cadence, step length, and step-length variability), and subjective gait stability in PD patients.

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Background: Through their expertise and diverse skills, Parkinson Nurses are key care providers for people with Parkinson's disease. They are seen as an important profession for person-centered and multidisciplinary care, considered priorities in Parkinson's care delivery. Currently, however, little is known about the priorities that this profession itself defines for the care of Parkinson's patients and how they perceive their own role in the care process.

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Article Synopsis
  • Quality of life (QoL) is crucial for monitoring therapies in Parkinson's disease patients (PwPD) and their caregivers, as both can experience a decline in QoL due to the disease’s varied symptoms and its psychosocial impact.
  • A longitudinal study will track 1,000 PwPD and their caregivers over 20 years, assessing QoL through clinical data, self-reports, biospecimens, and MRI scans to better understand the factors influencing QoL.
  • The findings aim to enhance diagnostics, prognostics, and therapy adjustments, with results slated for publication in peer-reviewed journals to ensure broad dissemination and impact.
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Article Synopsis
  • MANAGE-PD is a web-based tool designed to help doctors identify Parkinson's disease patients whose symptoms aren't well managed by oral medications, with a modified version available in Germany called Parkinson Check.
  • A study conducted in Germany in 2022 assessed the real-world utility of both tools using patient and physician ratings of disease control, involving 278 patients from 19 different sites.
  • The results showed that 57.6% of patients received the same disease control assessment from both physicians and MANAGE-PD, with higher agreement in specialist clinics compared to neurologist practices, and the Parkinson Check demonstrated strong concordance (>80%) between physician and patient responses.
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  • The study aimed to create a shorter version of the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy quality of life scale (PSP-QoL) to make it easier for patients, especially those with cognitive impairments, to complete.
  • Involved a retrospective analysis of data from 245 PSP patients in Germany, resulting in a condensed 12-item scale that covers mental and physical aspects of daily living.
  • The new scale, called the PSP-ShoQoL, showed strong correlations with existing measures of quality of life and demonstrated its sensitivity to changes over time.
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Tremor, whether arising from neurological diseases, other conditions, or medication side effects, significantly impacts patients' lives. Treatment complexities necessitate clear algorithms and strategies. Levodopa remains pivotal for Parkinson's tremor, though response variability exists.

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The anatomy of the human piriform cortex (PC) is poorly understood. We used a bimodal connectivity-based-parcellation approach to investigate subregions of the PC and its connectional differentiation from the amygdala. One hundred (55 % female) genetically unrelated subjects from the Human Connectome Project were included.

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Introduction: Bradykinesia, characterized by slowed movement, stands out as a primary symptom observed in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Nonetheless, there are instances where PD patients exhibit sudden and effective movements despite the presence of bradykinesia. This phenomenon, referred to as paradoxical kinesia, has remained a subject of interest for neuroscientists, who have struggled to unravel its underlying neural mechanisms for decades.

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Recent studies in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients reported disruptions in dynamic functional connectivity (dFC, i.e., a characterization of spontaneous fluctuations in functional connectivity over time).

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Purpose: While fMRI provides information on the temporal changes in blood oxygenation, 2- [18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ([F]FDG)-PET has traditionally offered a static snapshot of brain glucose consumption. As a result, studies investigating metabolic brain networks as potential biomarkers for neurodegeneration have primarily been conducted at the group level. However, recent pioneering studies introduced time-resolved [F]FDG-PET with constant infusion, which enables metabolic connectivity studies at the individual level.

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Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) effectively treats motor and non-motor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). As considerable interindividual variability of outcomes exists, neuroimaging-based biomarkers, including microstructural metrics, have been proposed to anticipate treatment response. In this prospective open-label study, we sought to detect microstructural properties of brain areas associated with short-term non-motor outcomes following STN-DBS.

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Background: Quality of life (QoL) is known to be impaired in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD). Not surprisingly, a considerable effort of health interventions is aimed at maintaining or improving QoL. Yet, little is known about its determinants from a PwPD perspective to inform person-centered health care interventions.

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Background: Endothelial activation promotes the release of procoagulant extracellular vesicles and inflammatory mediators from specialized storage granules. Endothelial membrane exocytosis is controlled by phosphorylation. We hypothesized that the absence of PTP1B (protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B) in endothelial cells promotes venous thromboinflammation by triggering endothelial membrane fusion and exocytosis.

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Background: A reduction in stride length is considered a key characteristic of gait kinematics in Parkinson's disease (PD) and has been identified as a predictor of falls. Although low-frequency stimulation (LFS) has been suggested as a method to improve gait characteristics, the underlying structural network is not well understood.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the structural correlates of changes in stride length during LFS (85 Hz).

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Objective: To investigate the effects of unilateral upper limbs' (ULM) neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) superimposed on a voluntary contraction added to a protocol of intradialytic leg cycle ergometer exercise on muscle strength, functional capacity and quality of life of adult patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial will be carried out at a Brazilian University Hospital. The patients will be evaluated and randomly allocated to an intervention group (i.

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Background: A significant proportion of people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) die in hospital settings. Although one could presume that most PwPD would favor being cared for and die at home, there is currently no evidence to support this assumption.

Objective: We aimed at exploring PwPD's preferences for place of end-of-life care and place of death, along with associated factors.

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A 30-year-old woman had 5 days of visual hallucinations, nystagmus, memory impairment and mutism. On examination, she was disorientated with reduced attention span, gaze-evoked nystagmus, paratonia and abnormal frontal reflexes. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed 80 cells, protein 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the link between periodontitis and Parkinson's disease, focusing on neuroinflammation's role in both conditions.
  • Researchers analyzed clinical data and biological samples from patients with Parkinson's and healthy individuals to evaluate the presence of periodontal pathogens and inflammatory markers.
  • Results showed significant associations between the severity of Parkinson's and the levels of inflammatory substances, suggesting that oral health may influence cognitive and motor functions in Parkinson's patients.
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Parkinson's disease (PD) is currently diagnosed largely on the basis of expert judgement with neuroimaging serving only as a supportive tool. In a recent study, we identified a hypometabolic midbrain cluster, which includes parts of the substantia nigra, as the best differentiating metabolic feature for PD-patients based on group comparison of [F]-fluorodeoxyglucose ([F]-FDG) PET scans. Longitudinal analyses confirmed progressive metabolic changes in this region and, an independent study showed great potential of nigral metabolism for diagnostic workup of parkinsonian syndromes.

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Most research in Parkinson's disease focuses on improving motor symptoms. Yet, up to 80% of patients present with non-motor symptoms that often have a large impact on patients' quality of life. Impairment in working memory, a fundamental cognitive process, is common in Parkinson's disease.

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Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) infection is an arbovirosis associated with a broad spectrum of neurological complications. We present a case of a 55-year-old man hailing from Manaus, a city situated in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, who exhibited symptoms of vertigo, tremors, urinary and fecal retention, compromised gait, and encephalopathy 3 weeks following SLEV infection. Neuroaxis MRI revealed diffuse, asymmetric, and poorly defined margins hyperintense lesions with peripheral and ring enhancement in subcortical white matter, as well as severe spinal cord involvement.

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Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in primary or secondary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) are a major cause for acquired thrombophilia, but specific interventions preventing autoimmune aPL development are an unmet clinical need. Although autoimmune aPL cross react with various coagulation regulatory proteins, lipid-reactive aPL, including those derived from patients with COVID-19, recognize the endolysosomal phospholipid lysobisphosphatidic acid presented by the cell surface-expressed endothelial protein C receptor. This specific recognition leads to complement-mediated activation of tissue factor (TF)-dependent proinflammatory signaling and thrombosis.

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