Identifying comorbidities and lifestyle factors contributing to the cognitive profile of early Parkinson's disease.

Background: Identifying modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment in the early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) and estimating their impact on cognitive status may help prevent dementia (PDD) and the design of cognitive trials.

Methods: Using a standard approach for the assessment of global cognition in PD and controlling for the effects of age, education and disease duration, we explored the associations between cognitive status, comorbidities, metabolic variables and lifestyle variables in 533 PD participants from the COPPADIS study.

Results: Among the overall sample, 21% of participants were classified as PD-MCI (n = 114) and 4% as PDD (n = 26).

Calcified cerebral embolism: a 9-case series and review of the literature.

Objective: Calcified cerebral embolus (CCE), a rarely reported and underdiagnosed cause of stroke, may be the first manifestation of a vascular or cardiac disease. We describe the characteristics of CCE in a series of 9 cases and review the literature on the subject.

Patients And Methods: We included patients with CCE from 3 different hospitals.

Depression is Associated with Impulse-compulsive Behaviors in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Depression and impulse control disorders (ICDs) are both common in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and their coexistence is frequent. Our aim was to determine the relationship between depression and impulsive-compulsive behaviors (ICBs) in a large cohort of PD patients.

Methods: PD patients recruited from 35 centers of Spain from the COPPADIS cohort from January 2016 to November 2017 were included in the study.

Nordic walking for people with relapsing-remittent multiple sclerosis: A case series study.

Background: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) show fatigue, impaired gait and decreased functional mobility, which lead to a low quality of life (QoL). Low-cost and easy to perform exercise modalities having a positive impact on the aforementioned symptoms are needed. The performance of Nordic Walking (NW) could be a useful rehabilitation strategy but, to our knowledge, no study has been published in this regard as yet.

Physiotherapy for freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Freezing of gait (FOG) is one of the most severe symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Physiotherapy treatment could be an effective strategy for treating FOG, but no systematic review has been carried out in this regard.

Aim: To identify the characteristics, methodological quality, and main outcomes of the studies that have analyzed the effects of physiotherapy interventions in FOG up to date, by performing a systematic review and a meta-analysis.

Benefits of Pilates in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Pilates may be a beneficial method of exercise for people with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, no studies have critically reviewed the scientific evidence in this regard. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of Pilates as a rehabilitation strategy for PD.

Calcified cerebral embolism: a 9 case series and review of the literature.

Objective: Calcified cerebral embolism (CCE), a rarely reported and underdiagnosed cause of stroke, may be the first manifestation of a vascular or cardiac disease. Our purpose is to describe the characteristics of CCE in a series of 9 cases and review the literature on the subject.

Patients And Methods: We included patients with CCE from 3 different hospitals.

Influence of cognitive impairment on the freezing of gait in non demented people with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Freezing of gait (FOG) is a motor disturbance usually appearing in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Cognitive and executive function seems to play an important role in this phenomenon.

Aim: To investigate if cognitive and kinematic parameters correlate with FOG in PD patients without dementia.

Self-Paced Cycling Improves Cognition on Institutionalized Older Adults Without Known Cognitive Impairment: A 15-Month Randomized Controlled Trial.

This study aimed at identifying the effects of self-paced cycling on the cognitive and functional status and fall risk on institutionalized older adults without cognitive impairment. A total of 39 individuals were randomly assigned to an exercise group or to a control group. The exercise group participants cycled at their self-selected intensity at least for 15 min daily during 15 months.

A protective personal factor against disability and dependence in the elderly: an ordinal regression analysis with nine geographically-defined samples from Spain.

Background: Sense of Coherence (SOC) is defined as a tendency to perceive life experiences as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. The construct is split in three major domains: Comprehensibility, Manageability, and Meaningfulness. SOC has been associated with successful coping strategies in the face of illness and traumatic events and is a predictor of self-reported and objective health in a variety of contexts.

Influence of cognitive impairment on fall risk among elderly nursing home residents.

Background: Information relating the severity of cognitive decline to the fall risk in institutionalized older adults is still scarce. This study aims to identify potential fall risk factors (medications, behavior, motor function, and neuropsychological disturbances) depending on the severity of cognitive impairment in nursing home residents.

Methods: A total of 1,167 nursing home residents (mean age 81.

Treadmill training combined with water and land-based exercise programs: Effects on Parkinson's disease patients.

Background: There is a need for studies about the effects of treadmill training (TT) on Parkinson's disease (PD) patients when combined with other exercise training modalities.

Objective: To identify the effects of a multicomponent rehabilitation program on the illness impact, quality of life and fitness level in Parkinson's disease.

Methods: Participants were assigned to two exercise groups: water and land-based exercise (WL) or water and land-based exercise plus treadmill training (TWL).

Investigation of the role of rare TREM2 variants in frontotemporal dementia subtypes.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder. Rare TREM2 variants have been recently identified in families affected by FTD-like phenotype. However, genetic studies of the role of rare TREM2 variants in FTD have generated conflicting results possibly because of difficulties on diagnostic accuracy.

Prevalence of Essential Tremor on Arosa Island, Spain: a Community-based, Door-to-Door Survey.

Background: The prevalence of essential tremor (ET) is still not well understood and the various studies performed to date have generated highly variable results. Few epidemiologic studies on the prevalence of ET have been reported from Spain.

Methods: A one-stage door-to-door survey was conducted on Arosa Island, northwestern Spain, to determine the prevalence of ET in the population aged 65 years and older.

[Effects of aquatic physical exercise on the kinematic gait pattern in patients with Parkinson's disease: a pilot study].

AIM. To determine the effects of an aquatic-based physical exercise program on gait parameters of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). PATIENTS AND METHODS.

C9ORF72 repeat expansion in Australian and Spanish frontotemporal dementia patients.

A hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9ORF72 has been established as a common cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). However, the minimum repeat number necessary for disease pathogenesis is not known. The aims of our study were to determine the frequency of the C9ORF72 repeat expansion in two FTD patient collections (one Australian and one Spanish, combined n = 190), to examine C9ORF72 expansion allele length in a subset of FTD patients, and to examine C9ORF72 allele length in 'non-expansion' patients (those with <30 repeats).

Medical, environmental and personal factors of disability in the elderly in Spain: a screening survey based on the International Classification of Functioning.

Objectives: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) advocates a multifactorial and multifaceted conceptualization of disability. The objective of this study was to ascertain major medical, environmental and personal determinants of severe/extreme disability among the elderly population in Spain. The assessment scheme was consistent with the ICF model of disability.

Prevalence of disability in a composite ≥75 year-old population in Spain: a screening survey based on the International Classification of Functioning.

Background: The prevalence and predictors of functional status and disability of elderly people have been studied in several European countries including Spain. However, there has been no population-based study incorporating the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework as the basis for assessing disability. The present study reports prevalence rates for mild, moderate, and severe/extreme disability by the domains of activities and participation of the ICF.

Prevalence of parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease in the Arosa Island (Spain): a community-based door-to-door survey.

There are scarce epidemiological data on parkinsonism in Spain. Since the Arosa Island community (Northwestern Spain) has been for centuries relatively isolated, it represents a potentially useful setting to undercover genetic factors with a founder effect, as well as local environmental influences. We performed a one-stage door-to-door survey in the Arosa Island in 2004 to determine the prevalence of parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease (PD) in the population aged 65 years or over.

Prevalence and European comparison of dementia in a ≥75-year-old composite population in Spain.

Objectives: To estimate dementia prevalence in Spain.

Materials And Methods: Nine probabilistic and geographically defined samples participated. A screening design based on the MMSE was implemented.

An overview of L-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase gene (L2HGDH) variants: a genotype-phenotype study.

L-2-Hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L2HGA) is a rare, neurometabolic disorder with an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. Affected individuals only have neurological manifestations, including psychomotor retardation, cerebellar ataxia, and more variably macrocephaly, or epilepsy. The diagnosis of L2HGA can be made based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), biochemical analysis, and mutational analysis of L2HGDH.

Pathogenic cysteine mutations affect progranulin function and production of mature granulins.

Frontotemporal dementia with ubiquitin-positive inclusions (FTLD-U) can be caused by mutations in the progranulin gene (GRN). Progranulin (PGRN) is a cysteine-rich growth factor, which is proteolytically cleaved by elastase to produce several granulins (GRNs). All FTLD-U mutations in GRN characterized to date result in reduced secreted PGRN protein.

Prevalence of dementia and major dementia subtypes in Spanish populations: a reanalysis of dementia prevalence surveys, 1990-2008.

Background: This study describes the prevalence of dementia and major dementia subtypes in Spanish elderly.

Methods: We identified screening surveys, both published and unpublished, in Spanish populations, which fulfilled specific quality criteria and targeted prevalence of dementia in populations aged 70 years and above. Surveys covering 13 geographically different populations were selected (prevalence period: 1990-2008).