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Health

MDS Task Force on Pediatrics publishes recommendations for transitional care for young people with movement disorders

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In a review published this year in the journal Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, members of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Task Force on Pediatrics collaborated to generate recommendations about providing transitional care for patients with childhood-onset movement disorders.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Aug. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — In a review published this year in the journal Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, members of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Task Force on Pediatrics collaborated to generate recommendations about providing transitional care for patients with childhood-onset movement disorders.

Childhood-onset movement disorders are often diagnosed by specialized pediatric neurologists, who follow them over the years. However, as patients approach adulthood, a transition to adult clinics becomes necessary, presenting a challenging and intricate shift for both patients and healthcare providers.

The group comprised internationally diverse pediatric and adult neurologists to incorporate global perspectives. These experts completed multiple rounds of anonymized web-based surveys and subsequent discussions to reach consensus in a bias-limiting method known as the Delphi process.

“In a significant stride towards enhancing patient care, the authors have issued a comprehensive set of recommendations, aimed at facilitating the successful and seamless transition of young patients with movement disorders from pediatric to adult healthcare systems,” said Prof. Michele Matarazzo, Hospital HM Puerta Del Sur.

“These recommendations extend beyond conventional clinical management, such as reappraising the diagnosis and the continuity of the treatment, and encompass patient-centered measures, oriented at supporting them and their family in this complex phase of change,” Matarazzo said. “For example, some of the clearest focuses of the recommendations are represented by the multidisciplinary, the integration of patients and their family in the entire transitional process, and the progressive shift with a time of overlap between pediatric and adult clinics.

“Another key aspect of the recommendations is represented by the emotional support and the guide towards more autonomy that should be part of preparing the patient to an adult life with the disease.

“While their implementation might pose challenges in certain settings — as they require an infrastructure, time, professionals and financial resources, that might not be readily available everywhere — they still offer invaluable insights that can serve as incremental goals for achieving successful transitions.”

*View all of today’s news from the MDS International Congress: https://www.mdscongress.org/Press

About the 2023 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®:
The MDS International Congress is the premiere annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 1,800 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options.

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society:
The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society® (MDS), an international society of more than 11,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit http://www.movementdisorders.org.

Media Contact

Shea Higgins, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, 1 (414) 276-2145, [email protected], mdscongress.org

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SOURCE International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society



Health

Novel Application of Machine Learning Approaches Predicts Gait Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease

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A machine learning approach from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) multi-spectral diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) showed prediction of gait dysfunction in PD according to a study released today at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders® in Copenhagen, Denmark.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Aug. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — A machine learning approach from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) multi-spectral diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) showed prediction of gait dysfunction in PD according to a study released today at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders® in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Several neuroimaging studies in Parkinson’s disease (PD) suggest an altered interplay between cortical and subcortical brain areas at a structural and functional level each that contributes to gait dysfunction in PD.

This study used 7 different quantitative DTI measures from 43 PD patients along with UPDRS III, to develop a prediction model for gait dysfunction using different machine learning approaches and 60 template regions of interest (ROIs). The analysis concluded that the multilayer perceptron (MLP) machine learning approach with 5 hidden layers and Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU) activation performed best to predict gait dysfunction in PD with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.78.

Klaus Seppi, Director of the Department of Neurology at the Hospital Kufstein and Professor for Neurology with the focus on Movement Disorders of the Department of Neurology at the Medical University Innsbruck, responded to this study.

“Recent advances in MR methodology allowing quantitative evaluation of biochemical changes and macro- and microstructural alterations as well as analytic approaches including voxel-based analyses, machine-learning techniques and other post-processing algorithms have gained growing popularity in medical image analysis offering insights into the pathophysiology underlying key symptoms such as gait dysfunction in PD,” Seppi said. “This study suggests that a machine learning approach of DTI analysis may have potential in predicting gait dysfunction in PD patients if confirmed by larger confirmative studies. Moreover, future studies have to explore if this pattern changes with disease progression.”

View the full-text abstract:
http://www.mdsabstracts.org – Reference #: 297

*View all of today’s breaking MDS International Congress research news releases:
https://www.mdscongress.org/Press

About the 2023 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®: 
The MDS International Congress is the premiere annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 1,800 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options. 

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society: 
The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society® (MDS), an international society of more than 11,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit http://www.movementdisorders.org. ;

Media Contact

Shea Higgins, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, 1 (414) 276-2145, [email protected], mdscongress.org

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SOURCE International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society



health and fitness

Machine learnings has potential to assist with diagnosis in Parkinsonian syndromes

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Parkinsonian syndromes diagnosis was assisted by machine learning reliably in an international study released today at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders® in Copenhagen, Denmark.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Aug. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Parkinsonian syndromes diagnosis was assisted by machine learning reliably in an international study released today at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders® in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Parkinsonian syndromes — multiple systems atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy — present with similar clinical symptoms as Parkinson’s disease but are distinct diseases with available corresponding therapies. In this study, PET scans were leveraged to train a machine learning algorithm to differentiate the scans of patients with varying Parkinsonian syndromes. The algorithm was then successfully tested in two populations, one in the United States and one in Slovenia.

“It’s become quite clear that there are reproducible differences in overall patterns of FDG-PET between parkinsonian syndromes, and that these changes can be seen very early in the disease process,” said Dr. Ronald Postuma, Montreal Neurological Institute, “One of the difficulties in the field is the number of different patterns that have been described, which are often partially overlapping. This overlap suggests that machine learning procedures may be very useful, as they do not necessarily need to prespecify a specific pattern. The diagnostic performance here, although not perfect, is nonetheless quite encouraging, and equals that of many other biomarker/ imaging based diagnostic tools.”

View the full-text abstract:
http://www.mdsabstracts.org – Reference #: 1599

*View all of today’s breaking MDS International Congress research news releases: https://www.mdscongress.org/Press

About the 2023 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®:  
The MDS International Congress is the premiere annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 1,800 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options. 

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society: 
The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society® (MDS), an international society of more than 11,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit http://www.movementdisorders.org.

Media Contact

Shea Higgins, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, 1 (414) 276-2145, [email protected], mdscongress.org

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SOURCE International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society



Health

Safety and efficacy of gene therapy studied in minipigs with Huntington’s disease

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“The authors demonstrate the long-term safety and durability of an adeno-associated viral vector serotype 5 encoding an engineered miRNA (AAV5-miHTT) targeting human mutant huntingtin (mHTT) in the minipig animal model of Huntington’s disease (HD) up to 5 years post-injection,” Jennifer Goldman, MD, MS, expert movement disorder neurologist. “This finding expands on their prior work revealing sustained cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) mHTT protein lowering up to 4 years after a one-time intrastriatal administration of AAV5-miHTT.”

“HD is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder for which we still seek a cure or disease-modifying treatment. As such, HTT-lowering strategies have received growing interest for their disease-modifying potential in HD clinical trials. AAV5 has been a candidate for RNAi-based gene transfer in HD animal models, and adeno-associated viral vectors have been recently studied in early-phase HD human trials, while others have been approved for neurologic diseases such as spinal muscle atrophy. The study illustrates an important sustained duration of effect on mHTT post-injection.

“In addition, the ability to deliver AAV5 intrathecally rather than directly via striatal delivery, coupled with demonstrated effects on mHTT in this abstract, may have promise for future human trials with therapeutic delivery via lumbar puncture infusion rather than neurosurgical stereotactical procedures.

“Whether changes in protein levels as measured in the brain, CSF or other biofluids are associated with suppression of aggregate formations, prevention of neuronal dysfunction, or importantly lead to clinical and behavioral changes and functional improvements remain to be seen. Understanding the effects of reduced mHTT and the targeted intervention on different brain regions will be important considerations in translating to human therapies. This research also adds to the literature regarding large animal models under study for HD such as minipigs, which may offer promise beyond rodent models for drug development. However, further development in these models regarding clinical features and behavioral tasks of HD may be needed.”

View the full-text abstract:
http://www.mdsabstracts.org – Reference #: 865

*View all of today’s breaking MDS International Congress research news releases: https://www.mdscongress.org/Press

About the 2023 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®:  
The MDS International Congress is the premiere annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 1,800 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options. 

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society: The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society® (MDS), an international society of more than 11,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit http://www.movementdisorders.org. ;

Media Contact

Shea Higgins, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, 1 (414) 276-2145, [email protected], mdscongress.org

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SOURCE International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society



Health: Mental Health

Three months of probiotic therapy shown to reduce motor and nonmotor Parkinson’s disease symptoms

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Probiotics may be a viable therapeutic avenue for PD patients suffering from prolonged ‘off’ periods, constipation and sleep deficits, according to a multicenter randomized controlled trial released today at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders® in Copenhagen, Denmark.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Aug. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Probiotics may be a viable therapeutic avenue for PD patients suffering from prolonged ‘off’ periods, constipation and sleep deficits, according to a multicenter randomized controlled trial released today at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders® in Copenhagen, Denmark.

After 12 weeks of probiotic therapy, shallow shotgun sequencing revealed an increased occurrence of beneficial flora, while UPDRS scores demonstrated a significant reduction in motor (i.e., ‘time to on’) and nonmotor (i.e., gastrointestinal, sleep/fatigue) symptoms.

The human body hosts millions of microbes, and many scientists support the idea that the species that populate our bodies matter on a molecular level because of their integration into our metabolic processes. Probiotic therapy is rooted in the idea that the intentional introduction of ‘good’ bacteria could help regulate metabolites that may be intrinsically linked to disease processes.

“Recently, there has been an increasing interest and broadening scope of research investigating the relationship between gut dysbiosis—an imbalance in the composition of gut bacteria—and the intricate interactions of the ‘gut-brain’ axis in the context of Parkinson’s disease (PD),” said Veronica Bruno, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary. “The article by Leta et al. stands out as a significant contribution to this area of study, aiming to understand the impact of a four-strain probiotic on gut dysbiosis, motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms in PD patients with constipation. The authors’ conclusion highlights that the four-strain probiotic effectively enhances gut microbiota, improves ‘time to on’ and alleviates the burden of non-motor symptoms among PD patients with constipation.

“While the implications of the observed changes in gut microbiota remain a captivating realm for further investigation, a particularly noteworthy finding revolves around the reduction in the ‘time to on’ observed within the active treatment group. People living with Parkinson’s disease frequently express their frustration and challenges arising from the delay in the effectiveness of their medication. This delay can result in periods of diminished mobility, tremors and other disruptive symptoms that affect their daily routines. The identification that the four-strain probiotic contributes to shortening this ‘time to on’ phase holds promise for substantial enhancements in patients’ lives by diminishing these difficult ‘off’ intervals and enhancing overall well-being.

“Research efforts like the current study, enabled by a robust multicenter randomized controlled trial design, are pivotal in generating evidence-based solid treatments. This is especially vital for addressing specific PD non-motor symptoms that have historically received less attention. The discoveries arising from this study emphasize the need for further research, including efforts focused on confirming the lasting sustainability of the observed effects and revealing the underlying mechanisms at play.”

View the full-text abstract:
http://www.mdsabstracts.org – Reference #: 84

*View all of today’s breaking MDS International Congress research news releases: https://www.mdscongress.org/Press

About the 2023 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®:  
The MDS International Congress is the premiere annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 1,800 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options. 

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society: The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society® (MDS), an international society of more than 11,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit http://www.movementdisorders.org. 

Media Contact

Shea Higgins, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, 1 (414) 276-2145, [email protected], mdscongress.org

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SOURCE International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society



Health

First Tunisian study examining age of onset for biallelic mutations in Huntington’s disease

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The genetic and familial history of 180 Tunisian HD patients, five homozygous, were examined. The age of disease onset between the homozygous and heterozygous patients did not differ significantly. Patients with a large allele expansion were associated with an earlier age of onset, 30 years for homozygous and 33 years for heterozygous. Patients with smaller all were associated with a later age of onset, 62 years for homozygous and 74 years for heterozygous. The number of CAG repeats and age of disease onset was shown to be inversely correlated for homozygous patients.

“Huntington’s disease is a rare disease that exists all over the world,” said Prof. Joaquim Ferreira MD, PhD, University of Lisbon. “However, access to genetic diagnostic tests is not available in many parts of the world, including many African countries. This study carried out in a population of Tunisian patients reminds us not only of the need to make genetic diagnostic tests available everywhere, but also of the benefit of these countries being able to contribute with scientifically relevant data. In this study, it is presented the clinical and molecular features of HD patients with homozygous alleles, which is an additional contribution to understanding the relationship between the quantity of the mutated huntingtin and the disease phenomenology.”

View the full-text abstract:
http://www.mdsabstracts.org – Reference #: 909

*View all of today’s breaking MDS International Congress research news releases: https://www.mdscongress.org/Press 

About the 2023 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®:  
The MDS International Congress is the premiere annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 1,800 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options. 

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society: The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society® (MDS), an international society of more than 11,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit http://www.movementdisorders.org. 

Media Contact

Shea Higgins, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, 1 (414) 276-2145, [email protected], mdscongress.org

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SOURCE International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society



Health: Mental Health

Machine learning algorithm applied in classifying tic from non-tic movements

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The study by Becker and colleagues used a dataset of 63 videos of people with tic disorders to train a Random Forest classifier to identify tic movements. Various predictable features were combined into a single detection tic score and trained using videos from both people with tic disorders and healthy controls. The accuracy of this tic score in classifying patients and healthy controls was 83%.

“The frequency and characteristic cluster aggregation of tics are key determinants of tic severity,” said Dr. Davide Martino, Professor of Neurology at the University of Calgary. “Wearable sensors recording tics in patients’ natural environment are currently under exploration, but the anatomical distribution and diverse phenomenology of tics hinder the routine clinical applicability of these sensors. Tic frequency and phenomenology are also routinely assessed using video recordings usually obtained in a clinical setting, a methodology often used also in clinical trials. Rating these recordings is time- and energy-consuming. This study applies machine learning to train an algorithm that classifies tics from non-tic extra movements and measures several parameters detailing the temporal distribution of tics, ultimately combining these into a single tic detection score. The study reports a very good classification accuracy of the algorithm (83%), although the composition and accuracy of the tic detection score is still in progress.

An algorithm that measures frequency and clustering of tics from video recordings has strong translational value in routine clinical practice and clinical research, as it would likely optimize reliability and efficiency of these measurements. Although limited to facial/head tics, the same approach can be extended to other body regions and phonic tics. It is also important to point out that video recording-based measures will inevitably still need to be integrated with other domains of tic severity, e.g., interference with daily routines and functional impact, in order to achieve a truly comprehensive assessment of tics.”

View the full-text abstract:
http://www.mdsabstracts.org Reference #:951

*View all of today’s breaking MDS International Congress research news releases: https://www.mdscongress.org/Press

About the 2023 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®:
The MDS International Congress is the premiere annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 1,800 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options.

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society:
The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society® (MDS), an international society of more than 11,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit http://www.movementdisorders.org.

Media Contact

Shea Higgins, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, 1 (414) 276-2145, [email protected], mdscongress.org

SOURCE International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

Lifestyle: Self Help

Diabetes treatment shows potential as an adjunct therapy for early Parkinson’s disease

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This study by Meissner and colleagues examines the effect of one year of lixisenatide treatment for early Parkinson’s disease (PD) both during OFF times, when patients are not under the influence of other medications, and during ON times, when lixisenatide is active in association with other antiparkinsonian medications.

After one year of daily treatment, the lixisenatide subjects were less disabled, when assessed by the MDS-UPDRS, a standard examination score of PD impairment. The improved scores on lixisenatide documented in the ON and OFF states favored an improvement in the underlying disease state and not just an amplified pharmacologic impact on drugs already being used.    

“The study design is innovative, because it examines drug effects in both ON and OFF phases,” said Dr. Christopher Goetz, Professor of Neurological Sciences and Pharmacology at Rush University in Chicago, USA. “Further, the high retention rates bespeak an impressive, centralized organization across the French centers conducting the research program. Larger international studies will definitively define this drug’s place in our treatment portfolio, but disease-modifying therapies are a goal that would open the prospect of treating the underlying disease as well as ameliorating symptoms.”

View the full-text abstract:
http://www.mdsabstracts.org – Reference #: 84

*View all of today’s breaking MDS International Congress research news releases: https://www.mdscongress.org/Press

About the 2023 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®:  
The MDS International Congress is the premiere annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 1,800 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options. 

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society: The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society® (MDS), an international society of more than 11,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit http://www.movementdisorders.org. 

Media Contact

Shea Higgins, The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, 1 (414) 276-2145, [email protected], mdscongress.org

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SOURCE The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society



Health

BIOXCEL INVESTOR ALERT: Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $100,000 In BioXcel To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options

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NEW YORK, Aug. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. (“BioXcel” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BTAI) and reminds investors of the September 5, 2023 deadline to seek the role…