Evaluation of motor fluctuations in Parkinson's disease: electronic vs. conventional paper diaries.

Background: Paper symptom diaries are a common tool for assessing motor fluctuations in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, but there are concerns about inaccuracies in the assessment of motor fluctuation due to recall bias and poor compliance. We, therefore, developed an electronic diary with reminder and real-time recording functions.

Objectives And Methods: To evaluate the effectiveness of the electronic diary, we compared compliance and motor fluctuation assessment with a paper diary.

New Insights into Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease from Spectral Dynamic Causal Modeling.

Background: Freezing of gait is one of the most disturbing motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the effective connectivity between key brain hubs that are associated with the pathophysiological mechanism of freezing of gait remains elusive.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify effective connectivity underlying freezing of gait.

Assessing impaired bed mobility in patients with Parkinson's disease: a scoping review.

Background: Although most patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience difficulties in bed mobility, evidence on the suitability of the methods for assessing impaired bed mobility in PD are lacking.

Objectives: To identify objective methods for assessing impaired bed mobility in PD and to discuss their clinimetric properties and feasibility for use in clinical practice.

Data Sources: PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched between 1995 and 2022.

The validation of a Japanese version of the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (NFOG-Q).

Objective: This study aimed to develop a Japanese version of the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (NFOG-Q) and investigate its validity and reliability.

Methods: After translating the NFOG-Q according to a standardised protocol, 56 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) were administered it. Additionally, the MDS-UPDRS parts II and III, Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage, and number of falls over 1 month were evaluated.

Decreased hepatic enzymes reflect the decreased vitamin B6 levels in Parkinson's disease patients.

The study aims to investigate the vitamin B6 levels in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and their association with liver enzymes and evaluate how much dysregulation is associated with levodopa dose. Furthermore, to evaluate the effect of Opicapone, a catechol-o-methyl-transferase inhibitor, on vitamin B6 levels by monitoring the AST and ALT levels in patients treated with Levodopa-Carbidopa Intestinal Gel Infusion (LCIG). For these aims, serum vitamin B6 levels were measured (PD, n = 72 and controls, n = 31).

Measurement instruments to assess basic functional mobility in Parkinson's Disease: A systematic review of clinimetric properties and feasibility for use in clinical practice.

Unlabelled: Taniguchi S, Yamamoto A. Measurement instruments to assess basic functional mobility in Parkinson's Disease: A systematic review of clinimetric properties and feasibility for use in clinical practice. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2023; 14: 16-25.

Cooperation and competition between the default mode network and frontal parietal network in the elderly.

Recent research has shown that the Default Mode Network (DMN) typically exhibits increased activation during processing of social and personal information but shows deactivation during working memory (WM) tasks. Previously, we reported the Frontal Parietal Network (FPN) and DMN showed coactivation during task preparation whereas the DMN exhibited deactivation during task execution in working memory tasks. Aging research has shown that older adults exhibited decreased functional connectivity in the DMN relative to younger adults.

Decreased cerebrospinal fluid orexin levels not associated with clinical sleep disturbance in Parkinson's disease: A retrospective study.

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often suffer from sleep disturbances, including excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD). These symptoms are also experienced by patients with narcolepsy, which is characterized by orexin neuronal loss. In PD, a decrease in orexin neurons is observed pathologically, but the association between sleep disturbance in PD and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) orexin levels is still unclear.

Determinants of impaired bed mobility in Parkinson's disease: Impact of hip muscle strength and motor symptoms.

Background: Although most patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) present difficulties of bed mobility, the contributing factors to impaired bed mobility in PD are unknown.

Objective: To compare bed mobility and muscle strength between PD patients and healthy controls, and investigate the determinants of bed mobility in PD.

Methods: Sixteen patients with PD and ten age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled.

Validation and Reliability of the Japanese Version of the Modified Parkinson Activity Scale (M-PAS).

Objective: The Modified Parkinson Activity Scale (M-PAS) is used to identify the most important activity limitations in patients with Parkinson's disease. We developed a Japanese version of the M-PAS and evaluated its reliability and validity.

Methods: Twenty-five patients with Parkinson's disease (median age 71 years old, range 58-83) were enrolled, and two raters used the Japanese version of M-PAS to assess the subjects.

Functional Connectivity and Networks Underlying Complex Tool-Use Movement in Assembly Workers: An fMRI Study.

The aim of this study was to identify the functional connectivity and networks utilized during tool-use in real assembly workers. These brain networks have not been elucidated because the use of tools in real-life settings is more complex than that in experimental environments. We evaluated task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging in 13 assembly workers (trained workers, TW) and 27 age-matched volunteers (untrained workers, UTW) during a tool-use pantomiming task, and resting-state functional connectivity was also analyzed.

Assessment of leg muscle activity using toe tapping in patients with Parkinson's disease: comparison of two types of toe tapping.

[Purpose] This study investigates two types of toe tapping, i.e., "closed," with both feet on the floor, and "open," in which the foot does not touch the ground, and evaluates their usefulness in combination with monitoring of muscle activity during toe tapping.