Movement Disorders

The Director of the Movement Disorders Clinic at the University of Louisville emphasized the importance of knowing each patient, where they’re coming from and their goals.

The director of the Movement Disorders Clinic at University of Louisville spoke about current therapies available for patients but stressed that they often don’t address the non-motor features.

The VMAT2 inhibitor showed improvements through 48 weeks, though after halting therapy, some loss of improvement was observed.

The COMT inhibitor resulted in 65-minute and 39-minute decreases in mean off time for patients who switched from placebo and entacapone, respectively.

Can this first-of-its-kind guideline for identifying biomarkers in Parkinson disease invigorate a drive for disease-modifying therapy development?

For those at-risk for Parkinson disease, reducing systemic inflammation could decrease the incidence of the movement disorder.

Could GlaxoSmithKline and 23andMe use genetic data to create landscape-altering therapies for hard-to-treat conditions?

The use of DBS in early Parkinson could slow rest tremor progression in patients.

The subcutaneous infusion resulted in 1.89 fewer hours per day spent in “off” periods compared to placebo.

IONIS-HTT Rx is the first and only drug to demonstrate reduction of mutant huntingtin protein in patients.

The professor of neurology provided insight into the field of deep brain stimulation and how Abbott's recent FDA approval is a solid step forward.

Abbott’s Infinity Deep Brain Stimulator now allows for performance of MRI on patients with Parkinson or essential tremor with the system implanted.

A small but noteworthy study examined whether DBS could improve motor symptoms in early PD.

Psychosis symptoms in patients with Parkinson disease can turn a difficult situation into an untenable one: they are the leading reason that patients leave their homes for continued care in a skilled nursing facility.

The FDA had accepted a new drug application for APL-130277, a sublingual film version of apomorphine, as a treatment for OFF episodes in patients with Parkinson disease.

Across 3 cohorts, the therapy showed improvements in on-time without troublesome dyskinesia, ranging from 2.1 hours to 3.5 hours.

An update on the prevalence and features of demoralization in patients with PD.

New research highlights prevention, diagnostic, and treatment advances for Alzheimer, autism, atherosclerosis, and more.

Levels of calcium inside nerve cells seem to decrease early in PD, and then increase later on-a finding that stresses the importance of treatment throughout the entire course of the illness.

New technology may help patients and providers assess changes in severity of Parkinson disease symptoms more objectively.

The UC Health professor of neurology argued that with the current view on Parkinson disease, the field is missing the mark for disease-modifying interventions.

Study findings revealed statistically significant results at week 4 for the 100-U dose compared to placebo. The 75-U dose, while effective, did not achieve statistical significance.

The presence of REM Behavior Disorder predicted an increased risk of Parkinson disease, Lewy Body dementia, or multisystem atrophy in the largest study ever performed in people with the strange disorder. Details here. 

The finger displacement sign is a simple bedside test that can help distinguish Parkinson dementia from Alzheimer dementia.

Newly approved medications for various types of pain, generalized myasthenia gravis, and Parkinson disease will be fodder for discussion at AAN 2018. Here’s a brief overview of the therapies the FDA has approved within the past 6 months.