Sensitivity of Sniffer Dogs for a Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

Background: The diagnostic criteria for Parkinson's disease (PD) remain complex, which is especially problematic for nonmovement disorder experts. A test is required to establish a diagnosis of PD with improved accuracy and reproducibility.

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of tests using sniffer dogs to diagnose PD.

Association of rare PPARGC1A variants with Parkinson's disease risk.

Background: Recent researches on Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis discovered the correlation between PD and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) dysfunction and reduction of PPARGC1A gene expression. Hence, we detected PPARGC1A rare variants to clarify their effect on PD risk in a large population of PD patients in mainland China.

Methods: We applied whole-exome sequencing (WES) to 1917 patients with early-onset or familial PD and 1652 controls (WES cohort), and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to 1962 patients with sporadic late-onset PD and 1279 controls (WGS cohort).

Clinical Features and Correlates of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Parkinson's Disease.

To explore the clinical features and correlates of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in a Chinese population of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Patients with clinically established or clinically probable PD were recruited. Clinical and demographic data were collected, and participants were evaluated using standardized assessment protocols.