Movement Disorders

On our anniversary, take a look back at some of our most popular articles and interviews across a range of neurology topics.

At usual-speed walking, a number of domains of gait variability, pace, asymmetry, and postural control were significantly predictive of conversion to Parkinson disease, and could be used in combination with markers to identify prodromal disease and its progression.

Investigators found reductions in tic frequency and increases in the number of tic-free intervals when children were merely asked verbally to suppress their tics, and when an immediate and contingent reward was delivered for successful tic suppression, tic suppression was enhanced.

The PKG wearable was able to more effectively and objectively assess motor fluctuations in patients with Parkinson disease than standard patient-reported motor diaries.

The PRIAMO study data showed that men with Parkinson disease who had been sexually active in the past 12 months were more likely to have lower motor disability, better quality of life, and lower depression scores. No similar associations were observed for women.

The Accordion Pill C/L did show success in treating the symptoms of Parkinson, despite the lack of significant differences. Although it also failed to achieve superiority in secondary end points.

The PD GENEration program will offer no-cost genetic testing for Parkinson-related genes and genetic counseling, using the data for future research into the development of personalized medicine and interventions in Parkinson disease.

The International Congress on the Future of Neurology will take place this Fall in New York City, converging experts in neurology to discuss the latest data and best practices to better inform clinical decision-making.

The prescription drug user fee act target date is scheduled for April 26, 2020.

A phase 1/2 clinical trial is expected to be initiated in the second half of 2019.

The staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for MS shared her insight into the use of telemedicine in an outpatient setting across a number of subspecialties in neurology and how it can supplement care going forward.

VMAT2, given its role in presynaptic packaging, storage, and release of dopamine, has emerged as a promising target for therapeutic interventions to manage movement disorders.

Findings from a new study may be especially useful for PD patients who lack easy access to neurologists, especially those who are mobility impaired or live in remote areas.

Neurology News Network for the week ending June 22, 2019.

Abeona Therapeutics is currently planning a phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate ABO-202 in Batten disease.

Despite the clinical benefit being limited, the slowing of pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration disease progression—particularly in atypical cases—is a step toward developing a treatment for the orphan disease.

This podcast discusses preliminary evidence about the effects of karate on quality of life and several measures of gait, balance, and mobility in patients with PD.

The systematic review and meta-analysis identified cNfL usefulness as a biomarker, with the potential to help differentiate between frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer disease, as well as Parkinson disease from atypical parkinsonian syndromes.

Axovant reported positive safety data as well as improvements in a number of measurements of motor function and dyskinesias in patients with Parkinson disease who received treatment with their investigational gene therapy.

Pain related to more severe motor symptoms, phosphodiesterase 10A loss seen early, novel therapy shows promise, and other recent findings are summarized here.

New case-control findings suggest that glutamate and glutamine content may play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of functional motor symptoms.

The program director of neurology at Zucker School of Medicine, Northwell Health, reviewed the contributions of neurologist S. Weir Mitchell, MD, and how today’s neurologists can gain insights for their own practice from Mitchell’s complicated history.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, the vice president of neurosurgery at INSIGHTEC spoke about the clinical impact that the Exablate Neuro device has had on the treatment of tremor since its FDA approval.

Neurology News Network for the week ending May 18, 2019.

The associate professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic spoke about the findings of a population-based cohort study seeking to investigate the incidence of levodopa-induced dyskinesia in atypical parkinsonism.

Insights about where stem cell treatment of neurological diseases is headed.

New early-stage data suggest that vector‐mediated gene silencing of striatal CaV1.3 expression may hold promise for preventing the induction of levodopa-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson disease.

The FDA has expanded the indication for incobotulinumtoxinA, making it a first-line treatment for blepharospasm.

The chief medical officer of Neurocrine Biosciences spoke about how long-term data on valbenazine (Ingrezza) has helped shape the understanding of the effect tardive dyskinesia can have on patients, and how it can inform better utilization of the medication.

Although the primary end point of centrally video-rated TETRAS Performance Subscale did not achieve statistical significance, CX-8998-treated patients showed significant improvements in a number of other measurements.