Parkinson's Disease Mild Cognitive Impairment with MRI evidence of Cholinergic Nucleus 4 Degeneration: A New Subtype?

Subtyping Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) could improve clinical trial design and personalized treatments. Cholinergic nucleus 4 (Ch4) volume has been linked to cognitive impairment severity and future decline in PD. This study investigates whether PD-MCI patients with MRI evidence of Ch4 degeneration have distinct clinical profiles and cognitive trajectories.

Neuropsychological Determinants of Impairment in Activities of Daily Living in Patients With Lewy Body Dementia.

Background Understanding the specific cognitive domains associated with activities of daily living (ADLs) impairment in Lewy body dementia (LBD) may help identify which targeted therapeutic interventions to pursue in future research. This study aimed to investigate the neuropsychological determinants of impairment in ADLs in LBD patients. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of LBD patients referred for a clinical neuropsychological evaluation within the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Low-Income Older Adults' Vulnerability to Anticholinergic Medication-Associated Frailty.

Background: A growing body of research supports the negative impact of anticholinergic drug burden on physical frailty. However, prior research has been limited to homogeneous white European populations, and few studies have evaluated how anticholinergic burden tools compare in their measurement function and reliability with minority community-dwelling adult populations. This study investigated the association between anticholinergic drug exposure and frailty by conducting a sensitivity analysis using multiple anticholinergic burden tools in a diverse cohort.

Low-Dose Whole Brain Radiation Therapy for Alzheimer's Dementia: Results From a Pilot Trial in Humans.

Purpose: We report neurocognitive, imaging, ophthalmologic, and safety outcomes following low-dose whole brain radiation therapy (LD-WBRT) for patients with early Alzheimer dementia (eAD) treated in a pilot trial.

Methods And Materials: Trial-enrolled patients were at least 55 years of age, had eAD meeting NINCDS-ADRDA (National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association) Alzheimer's Criteria with confirmatory fluorodeoxyglucose and florbetapir positron emission tomography findings; had the capacity to complete neurocognitive function, psychological function, and quality-of-life assessments; had a Rosen modified Hachinski score ≤4; and had estimated survival >12 months.

Results: Five patients were treated with LD-WBRT (2 Gy × 5 over 1 week; 3 female; mean age, 73.

Cholinergic Nucleus 4 Degeneration and Cognitive Impairment in Isolated Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder.

Background: Cholinergic nucleus 4 (Ch4) degeneration is associated with cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, but it is unknown if Ch4 degeneration is also present in isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD).

Objective: The aim was to determine if there is evidence of Ch4 degeneration in patients with iRBD and if it is associated with cognitive impairment.

Methods: We analyzed the clinical and neuropsychological data of 35 iRBD patients and 35 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Anticholinergic Medication Burden in Parkinson's Disease Outpatients.

Background: Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) may be especially vulnerable to future cognitive decline from anticholinergic medications.

Objective: To characterize anticholinergic medication burden, determine the co-occurrence of anticholinergic and cholinesterase inhibitors, and to assess the correlations among anticholinergic burden scales in PD outpatients.

Methods: We studied 670 PD outpatients enrolled in a clinic registry between 2012 and 2020.

Exploration of Parkinson's Disease Symptomatology Subtypes From the Caregiver Perspective: Implications for Caregiver Burden, Depression, and Anxiety.

Background: While research has demonstrated associations between Parkinson's disease (PD) severity and caregiver burden and emotional functioning, less is known about the associations between specific PD symptom patterns and caregiver functioning.

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to explore symptomatology subtypes in PD from the caregiver perspective in the U.S.

Psychometric investigation of the affiliate stigma scale in Mexican Parkinson's disease caregivers: Development of a short form.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) caregivers, particularly in Latin America, may experience high levels of affiliate stigma due to their association with a person having a disability. The most common measure used of this construct in the literature, the Affiliate Stigma Scale, was validated using non-standard and questionable methods.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Affiliate Stigma Scale with PD caregivers in Mexico using more widely accepted psychometric approaches including confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses (CFAs, EFAs).

Parkinson's Symptoms and Caregiver Affiliate Stigma: A Multinational Study.

Background And Objective: Research has documented the stigma that individuals with degenerative neurological diseases experience, but caregivers also experience stigma by association (i.e., affiliate stigma).

Parkinson's family dynamics and caregiver sense of coherence: A family-systems approach to coping in Mexico and the United States.

Objective: The population of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) is growing in Mexico and the United States, and there is an increasing need for family members to provide caregiving. This study examined the connections between family dynamics and coping, or sense of coherence, among PD caregivers in Mexico (n = 148) and the United States (n = 105).

Methods: Caregivers completed measures of family dynamics and sense of coherence across indices of comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness.

The Translational Approaches to Personalized Health Collaborative: Pharmacogenomics for African American Older Adults.

Older adults (i.e., 60 years and older), are the leading consumers of medications, and consequently are suffering the most from medication-related adverse events.

Sleep, caregiver burden, and life satisfaction in Parkinson's disease caregivers: a multinational investigation.

Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to examine the pattern of associations among PD patient and caregiver sleep problems, caregiver burden, and caregiver life satisfaction. A secondary aim was to assess whether the pattern of associations differed between Mexican and U.S.

Shared mechanisms for cognitive impairment and physical frailty: A model for complex systems.

Introduction: We describe findings from a large study that provide empirical support for the emerging construct of cognitive frailty and put forth a theoretical framework that may advance the future study of complex aging conditions. While cognitive impairment and physical frailty have long been studied as separate constructs, recent studies suggest they share common etiologies. We aimed to create a population predictive model to gain an understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms for the relationship between physical frailty and cognitive impairment.

Cross-cultural differences in Parkinson's disease caregiving and burden between the United States and Mexico.

Introduction: Given the rapidly aging population in both the United States and Mexico, rates of Parkinson's disease (PD) are likely to rise in both countries, suggesting that the number of individuals providing informal care will also increase, and the healthcare system will have to consider the burden this places upon caregivers. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine differences in PD caregiving and burden between the United States and Mexico.

Methods: Data were collected from PD caregivers in the Parkinson's Clinic at the Hospital Civil Fray Antonio Alcalde in Guadalajara, Mexico (N = 148) and the Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia (N = 105) regarding caregiver demographics and self-reported burden.

Sleep Disturbance Mediates the Association Between Loneliness and Health in Older Americans.

Background: As the research documenting loneliness as a risk factor for morbidity and mortality continues to grow, it becomes increasingly critical to understand the mechanics of this relationship. This study assessed whether sleep disturbance mediates the relationship between loneliness and health.

Method: Data came from the 2006, 2010, and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study of older Americans; participants ≥ 65 who completed the Psychosocial and Lifestyle Questionnaire in 2006 were included (n = 5067).

The relationship between Parkinson's disease symptoms and caregiver quality of life.

Objective: Caregivers for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) can experience high burden, which underlies the importance of examining the needs of caregivers to be able to support them in the caregiving role. The current study aims to assess the relationships among PD symptoms and four measures of caregiver quality of life (QOL; i.e.

Parkinson's Symptoms and Caregiver Burden and Mental Health: A Cross-Cultural Mediational Model.

Informal caregivers are critical in the care of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and spend substantial time providing care, which may be associated with negative caregiver outcomes such as burden and mental health issues. Although research in the United States and Europe has generally supported these relations, there is very limited research on PD caregiving in Latin America. The current study examined the following connections in a sample of PD caregivers from the United States ( = 105) and Mexico ( = 148): (a) PD-related impairments (motor and nonmotor symptoms) and caregiver burden, (b) caregiver burden and caregiver mental health, and (c) PD-related impairments and mental health through caregiver burden.

Parkinson's family needs and caregiver mental health: A cross-cultural comparison between Mexico and the United States.

Background/objective: Given the growing population of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) worldwide and the growing need for family members to take on a caregiving role, it is critical that cross-cultural differences be examined in order to better meet the needs of PD caregivers. The purpose of this study was to examine the connections between the unmet needs and mental health of PD caregivers differentially in Mexico and the United States.

Methods: In Parkinson's clinics at public, academic medical centers, PD caregivers from Mexico (n = 148) and the United States (n = 105) completed measures of unmet family needs and mental health.

Anticholinergic Drug Induced Cognitive and Physical Impairment: Results from the InCHIANTI Study.

Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the relationship between anticholinergic drug burden (ACB) cognitive impairment, physical frailty, and cognitive frailty, and to determine if ACB is predictive of these phenotypes when modeled with biological and genomic biomarkers.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, a total of 1,453 adults aged 20-102 years were used to examine ACB as a predictor for cognitive impairment, physical frailty, and cognitive frailty. Anticholinergic burden is examined as a predictor for all phenotypes in a cross-sectional analysis using logistic, ordinal regression models, and Extreme Gradient Boosting for population predictive modeling.

Training Neurodegenerative Disease Support Group Leaders: A New Support Group Functioning Scale.

Support group leaders play pivotal roles in maintaining healthy community support groups; however, these leaders also have personal support needs and typically lack formal training in managing complex behaviors of neurodegenerative disorders. A support group well-being questionnaire, assessing support group functioning, was developed and piloted among participants of an educational training program designed for support group leaders of various neurodegenerative disorder-specific support groups. An exploratory factor analysis evaluated the questionnaire's psychometric properties and identified a reliable single factor five-item solution, which was titled the Support Group Functioning Scale (SGFS).

Randomized controlled expressive writing pilot in individuals with Parkinson's disease and their caregivers.

Background: Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and their caregivers are at risk for emotional distress and hypercortisolism. Expressive writing is an effective complementary intervention to ameliorate the psychological and physiological effects of chronic illness. This pilot study aimed to evaluate feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an expressive writing intervention for individuals with PD and their caregivers.

The roles of resilience and nonmotor symptoms in adjustment to Parkinson's disease.

Resilience contributes to better chronic disease adjustment but is understudied in Parkinson's disease. Although nonmotor symptoms affect quality of life, their effect on other aspects of Parkinson's disease adjustment is less understood. Hierarchical regression analyses from a cross-sectional survey of 138 community-dwelling adults with Parkinson's disease (mean (standard deviation) age = 64.

Caregiver-identified needs and barriers to care in Parkinson's disease.

Perceptions of service needs and barriers to care among caregivers of individuals with Parkinson's disease have not been well explored. The purpose of this study was to assess caregiver perceptions of their own and patients' medical and supportive service needs. An online and paper survey was disseminated to a sample of caregivers (n = 66) of individuals with Parkinson's disease.