Hassan, Anhar

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with 20 years or more survival (PD-20) are not well characterized. Objective: To evaluate PD-20 patient characteristics and identify areas for improvement of their health care. Methods: The international, multicenter National Parkinson’s Foundation Quality Improvement Initiative (NPF-QII) study database was queried to identify PD-20 subjects. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed. Results: We identified 187 PD-20 subjects (55% men) representing 4% (187/4,619) of all NPF-QII participants. Subjects were mean age 69.5 years; mean age at PD onset was 44.0 years. The majority (75%) had 20-25 years of PD duration, the longest duration being 49 years. They were median Hoehn and Yahr stage 3, and 75% had motor fluctuations. Half (54%) reported exercising. The majority (89%) were living at home and required a caregiver (88%). They were mildly cognitively impaired for age (Montreal Cognitive Assessment estimate 22.6±3.7), with most deficits in verbal fluency and delayed recall. Quality of life (Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire index 36±15%) was mild to moderately impaired, with most impairment in mobility and activities of daily living. Caregiver strain measured by the Multidimensional Caregiver Strain Index (27±16%), recorded highest subscores in social constraint. PD-20 subjects aged <70 years versus ≥70 only differed significantly by worse cognition ( P < 0.0001). Conclusions: PD-20 subjects reflect an elite group of PD survivors with early-onset disease and relatively mild cognitive disability despite long disease duration. Interventions for caregivers, mobility, and activities of daily living are areas that could improve caregiver burden and patient quality of life.

ABSTRACT Travel distance, growing disability, and uneven distribution of doctors limit access to care for most Parkinson's disease (PD) patients worldwide. Telemedicine, the use of telecommunications technology to deliver care at a distance, can help overcome these barriers. In this report, we describe the past, present, and likely future applications of telemedicine to PD. Historically, telemedicine has relied on expensive equipment to connect single patients to a specialist in pilot programs in wealthy nations. As the cost of video conferencing has plummeted, these efforts have expanded in scale and scope, now reaching larger parts of the world and extending the focus from care to training of remote providers. Policy, especially limited reimbursement, currently hinders the growth and adoption of these new care models. As these policies change and technology advances and spreads, the following will likely develop: integrated care networks that connect patients to a wide range of providers; education programs that support patients and health care providers; and new research applications that include remote monitoring and remote visits. Together, these developments will enable more individuals with PD to connect to care, increase access to expertise for patients and providers, and allow more‐extensive, less‐expensive participation in research. © 2014 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

Introduction: Median nerve ultrasound shows increased cross‐sectional area (CSA) in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PN). The role of ultrasound in diagnosing CTS superimposed on diabetic PN is unknown. The objective of this study is to evaluate ultrasound for diagnosis of CTS in diabetic PN. Methods: Prospective recruitment of diabetics with electrodiagnostically proven PN, subdivided into cases (with CTS) or controls (without CTS). The gold standard for CTS was clinical diagnosis. NCS were correlated with blinded median nerve CSA ultrasound measurements. Results: Eight cases (CTS) and eight controls (no CTS) were recruited. Nerve conduction studies (NCS): Median nerve distal latencies (antidromic sensory; palmar; lumbrical motor; and lumbrical motor to ulnar interosseous difference) were significantly prolonged in CTS cases. No ultrasound measurement (distal median CSA, wrist‐forearm ratio, wrist‐forearm difference) reached significance to detect CTS. Area under the curve was greatest for lumbrical distal latency by receiver operator characteristic analysis (0.85). Conclusions: In this pilot study, NCS may be superior to ultrasound for identification of superimposed CTS in diabetic PN patients, but larger numbers are needed for confirmation. Muscle Nerve 47: 437–439, 2013