Tag Archives: Research

depression, Essential Tremors, isolation, Maimonides, movement disorders, Parkinson's, prodromal, Quality of Life, Research , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Living with a misdiagnosis… (continued)

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In two previous posts of part of this unpublished article we provided the results in the form of a table, which listed diagnostic criteria and some common features and symptoms of Essential Tremors (ET) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD), and the basic Abstract section.

Today, we will look at the Discussion section, beginning with Quality of Life (QOL) impacts, and the Conclusions, listed as a half dozen null hypotheses.

Discussion:

The subject reports the following impacts on QOL:

· Failure to correctly identify, diagnose, and treat underlying conditions in a timely manner resulted in career termination prior to 60 years.

· Human interactions, both person to person and in public speaking, were affected by presence of hand tremors as well as vocal tremors.

· Open disclosure of diagnosis affected interpersonal relations of all kinds – some for better, some not.

· Interactions and side effects of various medications and treatments. (Risks from DBS and chronic administration levodopa are of concern (Vyavahare, S, et al., (2025)), including:

· Mood disorders,

· Balance, gait, and fall risk issues,

· Excessive daytime somnolence,

· Weight gain and loss,

· Libido and sexual functioning,

· Functions of organs such as kidneys and liver.

· General anhedonia and dysphoria.

· Financial impacts due to costs of medical insurance, medical services, medications and treatments, and diminished earning ability

The subject asks the following questions regarding QOL:

· How does one measure the loss of over a decade of one’s life due to a misdiagnosis?

· How does one calculate the loss of earnings and savings spent to pay for DBS surgery and follow up treatments?

· How does one calculate the hours spent on purchasing, tracking, and dispensing medications and supplements over a decade?

· Which of the numerous falls over the years (including a fractured femur) may have been avoided if he had not been misdiagnosed, mistreated, and over medicated?

The subject admits his situation could have been worse: misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis did not result in death.

The subject also admits that following the misdiagnosis of PD after seeking treatment for ET, he read as much research as possible, and noted the multiple prodromal and other risk factors in his history. He embraced the diagnosis of PD, exhibiting his own confirmation bias, and failed to fully explore the research on ET and ET concurrent with PD. Failure to seek or to recommend a second opinion regarding diagnosis and treatment with DBS is a responsibility shared by both patient and physician.

Factors affecting Early, Timely, Accurate, and Effective Diagnoses and Treatments

The stigma of being “sick” in a society which values the lower two of Moses Maimonides’s four ways in which man seeks perfection, can have negative effects. (The four types of perfection are (1.) wealth, titles, and power over others, (2.) physique and personal appearance, (3.) ethical virtue (social behavior to benefit others), and (4.) development of rational virtue (logic, science, and metaphysics) (Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed, (1952) translated by Rabin, C., abridged version by Guttman, J,)

The lowest of these is the “perfection of wealth.” In a system in which health care is not considered a basic human right, and ethical virtue does not assist in the attainment of amassing of wealth, some people are drawn to careers related to medicine as a means to attain perfection of wealth.

Consider the following data:

· In 2024 alone, pharmaceutical and health products companies reported over 16 million transfers or payments totaling $13.18 Billion to health care providers (https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/about accessed 20 September, 2025).

· Over $388 Million was spent to lobby on behalf of these companies during the year 2024, with over $226 Million reported so far in 2025 (https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/lobbying?cycle=2024&ind=H04 accessed 21 September, 2025).

· Recorded contributions to political campaigns from the industry in 2023-2024 were over $86 Million (https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/totals?cycle=2024&ind=H04 accessed 21 September 2025).

Note: All of the above funds were legally spent and reported. How much of the $13.8 Billion total was in the form of discounts or free services to patients is not known. Unknown whether any of the money spent lobbying and donating to political entities reduced the cost of healthcare for patients with Parkinson’s Disease, or any individual patient’s medical cost burden.

In addition to the seductive influence of wealth on diagnosis and treatment options (such as DBS and new versions of carbidopa-levodopa medications), physicians may also delegate the actual provision of services to others under their supervision.

Some neurologists may, in the face of what has been dubbed a “Parkinson’s Pandemic” (Dorsey,R. & Okun, M. (2025)), expand their practice beyond their actual areas of expertise, whether motivated by the attainment of wealth or a genuine attempt to provide services in an area in which there are too few MDSs to meet the needs of the population.

The bottom line IS the bottom line. The health system is not focused on the needs of patients, but on the profits required to provide investors with the best possible return on investment. Reflecting on the QOL issues, it may be the case that an investment in providing services to patients would provide a greater return on investment in the long run than in considering people to be as fungible as funds.

Conclusions:

Null Hypotheses and expected conclusions are presented based on reviewed research articles and abstracts, primarily from PubMed Central (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/).

Null hypothesis 1:

· PD and ET are distinct conditions and easily diagnosed by General Practitioners using the current diagnostic criteria.

Conclusion:

· Expect Rejection of Null Hypothesis (ERNH). Initial diagnoses of ET, PD, and other movement disorders are well below 100% in initial clinical presentations. (Joutsa et al., 2014, Adler et al. 2014, Khan et al. 2024)

Null hypothesis 2:

· PD and ET do not share any common features or symptoms.

Conclusion:

· (ERNH). Multiple common features and symptoms (See Table 1).

Null hypothesis 3:

· PD and/or ET are wholly due to genetic factors.

Conclusion:

· (ERNH). ET and PD cases are heterogenous in etiology. (See Table 1).

Null hypothesis 4:

· PD and/or ET are simply due to natural aging processes.

Conclusion:

· (ERNH). Age increases risk, but is not determining factor (See Table 1).

Null hypothesis 5:

· Interactions with medications, environmental factors, and genetics do not need to be considered when diagnosing or treating ET or PD.

Conclusion:

· (ERNH). Criteria for ET specifically notes certain drug interactions as a factor for exclusion. (Bhatia et al., 2018). (However, MDS criteria do not include genetics (presence in family members) as a criterion for diagnosis of ET.) Recommendation: MDS should consider adding family history and DNA analyses to diagnostic criteria for ET and PD.

Null hypothesis 6:

· History of ET diagnosis is unrelated to progression of PD symptoms following PD diagnosis.

Conclusion:

· (ERNH). ET history in patients with PD is associated with a benign prognosis with slower motor and non-motor symptoms progression.” (Ou, R.,et al., 2020; Cutrona et al., 2025).

Recommendations and implications for practice and research:

The low accuracy of initial diagnosis for PD should be noted when conducting research, reviews and metareviews. Although several initiatives to develop algorithms to predict risks for developing PD have been created, these mathematical models are vulnerable to missing or undocumented data, which reduces the accuracy of these tools.

Further longitudinal investigation to include subjects with

1. Existing diagnosis of ET to identify those who

1.1. Later develop PD (ET + PD),

1.2. Do not later develop PD (ET only), and

1.3. Subjects who do not have a diagnosis of either ET or PD (control group)

2. Investigate subjects with current family histories of

2.1. ET,

2.2. ET+PD, and

2.3. absence of either ET or PD.

3. Continue studies into relationship between tremors and disease progression.

4. Include DNA analysis and broaden genes included in correlation, as has been initiated.

Implications for practice:

Clinician education and patient education are in need of greater effort and attention in order to improve early identification and treatments.

Clinicians and Physicians

· Clinicians need to be conscious of and defend against confirmation bias which could lead to misdiagnosis and missed diagnoses, impacting the patient’s Quality Of Life or mortality, including inviting patients to seek

· Physicians and clinicians need to exercise caution to avoid iatrogenic symptoms, toxic medicine interactions, and other complications.

· Physicians need to put patient needs at the center of their practice.

· Or, in other words, FIRST, DO NO HARM (Consider hanging as a reminder poster in all physicians’ offices)?

• Patients (and caregivers) need to 

  • Seek second opinions before major operations such as DBS,
  • Educate self regarding conditions and treatments,
  • Check for side effects of treatments
  • Take responsibility to ensure all members of the medical care team are advised and kept up to date on treatments

More research into shared and concurrent symptoms of related movement disorders is needed, given the difficulty of diagnosis and concurrence of many prodromal and post onset symptoms

End of this post.

References may be posted later. Maybe not.

Parkinson's, Research , 1 Comment

Participants needed for Narrative Study in Parkinson’s Disease – study starts February 26, 2022

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Robert Cochrane is recruiting participants for a new Parkinson’s Disease study. See below. Note the three categories of PD people needed:
” We are recruiting male and female persons diagnosed with idiopathic (unknown cause) Parkinson’s disease between and fit ONE of the following criteria:
– They have been diagnosed within the last year,
– are early onset (diagnosed before the age of 50)
– are active or former members of the U.S. military. “”
Here’s the full recruitment flyer:
Participants needed for Narrative Study in Parkinson’s Disease Principal Investigator, Dr. Gabriele Wulf, and Robert Cochrane, PhD student at UNLV, are looking for persons with Parkinson’s disease to participate in an online research study of heroic narrative upon Parkinson’s disease. Study participants will be asked to share their perceptions and experiences about Parkinson’s from the time they were diagnosed to today, and how they feel about their future quality of life expectations. They will be taught heroic storytelling structure and practical tools of how to explore and incorporate it into their own lives. Heroic storytelling is based on the works of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. Campbell’s work is broken into a 12-step journey for this class that participants will follow and use to write their own heroic journey with Parkinson’s disease. Participation in this study will require completion of 12 sessions, meeting once a week on Saturday mornings from 9a-10:30a (Pacific Time). Participants Will also be required to write a one-page personal assessment each week outside of class. Finally,online surveys at the beginning, middle and end of the 12-session period will be required. All sessions will take place online via Zoom. All sessions will be recorded. Participants must have a WiFi enabled device in a safe location (e.g. participants’ home) for these sessions. Sessions will include writing, theatrical improvisation and lectures from guest subject matter experts in fields such as dance, art and mythology. We are recruiting male and female persons diagnosed with idiopathic (unknown cause) Parkinson’s disease between and fit ONE of the following criteria:
– They have been diagnosed within the last year,
– are early onset (diagnosed before the age of 50)
– are active or former members of the U.S. military. Participants must be between 1-3 on the Hoehn and Yahr scale. This assessment should be given by participants’ neurologist or movement disorder specialist prior to acceptance into the program. We cannot accept persons who have an inability to communicate verbally, are uncomfortable writing, or are unable using the Zoom platform. Please email Robert Cochrane at cochra58@unlv.nevada.edu with questions or to express your interest in participating.This program was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Parkinson’s Foundation. Thank you!
Music, Parkinson's, Research, Reviews , , , , Leave a comment

Keep on moving to (and making) music

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The evidence that rhythm, movement, and making music continues to accumulate as a therapeutic approach to address the symptoms and Quality of Life issues related to Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Today we look at an article just out in Frontiers of Human Neuroscience, titled

Rhythm and Music-Based Interventions in Motor Rehabilitation: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives  

Over the last quarter of a century, increasing research results point to rhythm and music as effective and useful tools for treatment and rehabilitation of people with neurological disorders. This article reviews the evidence for four different approaches, what the consensus is at the present time, and, of course, suggests future directions.

The authors look at four different approaches:

  1. Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS)
  2. Music-Supported Therapy (MST)
  3. Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance therapy (TIMP) and
  4. Patterned Sensory Enhancement (PSE)

The consensus of recent meta-analyses and systematic reviews is that, for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), is that RAS is an effective tool for improving gait, stride, and speed – folks walk faster and with longer steps with RAS. Additionally, evidence is showing that it also reduces freezing of gait (FOG), improves balance and reduces the occurrence of falls.

Neither MST nor TIMP have been studied much beyond the rehabilitation of stroke patients. They involve practicing on a keyboard or drums, beginning with the patient’s comfort level and increasing in difficulty. Some studies have begun to be used to investigate effectiveness as treatments for PD.  Some have shown improvements in motor dexterity. More research is needed, but in the meantime, learning to play drums or keyboards can’t hurt, and may enrich one’s quality of life (QOL).

Growing evidence in neurological and brain imaging have shown increased activity in the auditory and motor areas of the brain, indicating that brain plasticity might be achieved through music and rhythmic interventions. The authors note that RAS has been well studied with stroke and PD populations, but not with other movement disorders and Alzheimer’s populations. In addition MST and TIMP have only begun to be investigated as a means of restoring fine motor coordination.

The authors also call for neuroimaging use in studies, to better understand the physiological basis of the rehabilitation process. They point out the gaps in research and hope to provide a framework for future research – not so much a roadmap, I would think, but a laying out of what we know and what we don’t know, and what kinds of studies are needed to answer the questions about what we don’t know..  They state that “musical rhythm is a powerful tool” for therapy, and our understanding and exploration of how it modulates brain networks is in the initial stages.

 In other words, “We’ve only just begun.”

Meanwhile: Don’t stop moving to the music.

 

Citation:
Braun Janzen T, Koshimori Y, Richard NM and Thaut MH (2022) Rhythm and Music-Based Interventions in Motor Rehabilitation: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 15:789467. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.78946

 

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A global resource

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Who would have guessed it?

There is now a checklist for all the vascular plants on the globe. Actually, probably many folks could have guessed it – this is what the internet was invented for, not for sharing cute kitten pictures on Facebook or Instagram (sorry, don’t mean to offend anyone. I like cute kitten pictures, too).

In an article (open access) published on nature.com, you will find The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. The DOI reference is https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6  where you can find the actual citation to use:

Govaerts, R., Nic Lughadha, E., Black, N. et al. The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Sci Data 8, 215 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6

There have been other checklists, and the authors provide a table explaining the differences.

To maximise utility, such lists should be accessible, explicitly  evidence-based, transparent, expert-reviewed, and regularly updated, incorporating new evidence and emerging scientific
consensus. WCVP largely meets these criteria, being continuously updated and freely available online. Users can browse, search, or download a user-defned subset of accepted species with corresponding synonyms and bibliographic details, or a date-stamped full dataset

The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WVCP)

As sloppy as I am as a scientist, I might not make use of this as often as I should. But I’ll post it, and maybe someone else will get more use out of it than I will. Who knows? Maybe I’ll make more use of it, having shared this post.

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Parkinson's, Research , , Leave a comment

Not a cure, but a biomarker

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A biomarker for Parkinson’s?  Maybe… (If you don’t have a free ResearchGate account, yu might not be able t see this link):

A blood marker for Parkinson’s Disease: Neuronal exosome-derived α-synuclein

This isn’t in print yet, so I’ll just quote frm the abstract:

18 To date, no reliable clinically applicable biomarker has been established for Parkinson’s
19 disease (PD). Our results indicate that a long hoped blood test for Parkinson’s disease may
20 be realized. We here assess the potential of pathological α-synuclein originating from
21 neuron-derived exosomes from blood plasma as a possible biomarker. Following the
22 isolation of neuron-derived exosomes from plasma of PD patients and non-PD individuals
23 immunoblot analyses were performed to detect exosomal α-synuclein. Under native
24 conditions significantly increased signals of disease-associated α-synuclein forms in neuron25 derived exosomes were measured in all individuals with PD and clearly distinguished PD
26 samples from controls. By performing a protein misfolding cyclic amplification assay these
27 aggregates could be amplified and seeding could be demonstrated. Moreover, the
28 aggregates exhibited β-sheet-rich structures and showed a fibrillary appearance. Our study
29 demonstrates that the detection of pathological α-synuclein conformers from neuron-derived
30 exosomes from plasma samples has the potential of a promising blood-biomarker of PD.

Exosomes are small bundles of proteins  enclosed by a membrane (if I understand it correctly)(feel free to correct me- the Wikipedia article hd a note saying that it was too technical for most readers – and I agree).

Exosomes contain material from the cells from which they originated, so might be used as biomarkers. Obviously, it will take a while to fund the research and develop some way to determine how far along the way to developing PD someone is.  But the sooner a person can deal with it, the better the opportunity to live well with it. I look forward to the development of biomarkers that will help predict who might get Parkinson’s, so those folks can take preventive action.

I am fortunate that my symptoms did not appear in the usual sequence,and that I had DBS early after diagnosis, have had an outstanding medical team looking out for me and working with me, have a strong local community supporting people with Parkinson’s, and have a care partner who makes sure that my diet is full of organic foods, produce, and as few highly processed foods as possible. And I get lots of exercise, considering that I’m not athletic and I am not into weightlifting or bodybuilding.

Lucky me.

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birds, cacti, exotics, grasses, invasives, species interactions , , , , , , Leave a comment

Some research that might be of interest…

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My Google Scholar alert feed tossed a couple of items my way  that might be of interest. They are in PDF format, so you can read them online or download them for future reference:

Tricky partners: native plants show stronger interaction preferences than their exotic counterparts.

Citation: Coux, C., I. Donoso, J. M. Tylianakis, D. Garcı´a, D. Martı´nez, D. M. Dehling, and D. B. Stouffer. 2021. Tricky partners: native plants show stronger interaction preferences than their exotic counterparts Ecology 102(2):e03239. 10.1002/ecy.3239

Main takeaway (my interpretation): Increasing presence of exotic plants may put rare native plants at higher risk of extinction.

(Caveat: my browser says the site is not secure. However, I have several security programs that (hopefully) would mitigate. the risks).

That being said, the article is from a group of scientists from New Zealand, Germany and Spain who looked into the interactions that native and exotic plant species had with other plant species.

Exotic species interact with many partners with which they have not coevolved, and it remains unclear whether this systematically influences the strength of neutral processes on interactions, and how these interaction-level differences scale up to entire networks. To fill this gap, we compared interactions between plants and frugivorous birds at nine forest sites in New Zealand varying in the relative abundance and composition of native and exotic species, with independently sampled data on bird and plant abundances from the same sites

The results found that native plants’ interactions with birds were both more positive (preference for) and negative (avoidance of). Their analysis suggests that the blending of species communities through dispersal of exotics into native plant communities might result in an increase of neutral interactions between birds and native plants or exotic plants.

This could make rare species more vulnerable to this loss of selectivity and to greater randomness in the identity of their interaction partner.

So there’s another argument for getting rid of invasives.

Moving right along, here comes

Where Have the Native Grasses Gone: What a LongTerm Repeat Study Can Tell Us about California’s Native Prairie Landscapes

…found that native grass cover decreased dramatically (especially on the valley floor), exotic grass cover fluctuated widely over time, while both native and exotic forb cover increased over time. The findings support the notion that prior grazing management practices may have supported the former stands of Stipa pulchra.

… Several trends became apparent when the data from the three periods are viewed together. Both native and exotic forbs increased between each data collection. There were consistently more native forbs than exotic ones and native grasses decreased in cover. Though exotic grasses fluctuated, they always made up a greater amount of cover than their native counterparts. Lastly, cover of bare ground fluctuated and shrubs declined. The Fisher’s Exact test of the increases and decreases of forb and grass cover across quadrats from 1981 to 2015 had a p-value of 0.00012 indicating that we can reject the null hypothesis of independence…

… native bunchgrasses have declined dramatically since the end of the ranching era. Simultaneously, native forbs have increased (at least temporarily), especially on the valley floor. Our findings also suggest that the historical ranching practices in LJV likely supported the excellent stands of Stipa observed in the valley prior to release from grazing. These findings are in agreement with those of previous long-term studies in other parts of California that also found a decline in Stipa cover on lands released from grazing. (emphasis added).

If one were to generalize the conclusions of this study to Texas, where this writer resides, I would say that the presence of large stands of Prickly Pear (Opuntia sp.). and Texas Cedars (Juniperus ashei) as the dominant species in large parts of Central Texas is probably due to past practices of overgrazing, similar to the presence of the native bunchgrasses in California has been attributed to the previous grazing practices in the study cited above.

However, I do not believe that the answer to the problem is to bulldoze the soil away and to cover the land with non-permeable surfaces like buildings and asphalt parking lots.  One can develop land while leaving large portions of native plant species intact, and without replacing them with crappy myrtles and Nandina plants.

postscript:

One of the references used in the article on California grasses was California’s Fading Wildflowers  by Richard A. Minnich. The table of contents and lists of illustrations and tables and preface are available for open access, but the book itself costs a hefty $128.00.  Another reference was Terrestrial Vegetation of California. California Native Plant Society Special Publication Number 9 (pp. 733–760). Sacramento, California., which is not on the web.

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Mediclal Marijuana, Music, Parkinson's, Research, Reviews, Sleep , , , Leave a comment

Cannabis and Parkinson’s Disease (PD)

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This article popped up in my email alerts. Although I do not have access to the journal in which it appeared, I thought I would post it anyway, along with several article titles that appeared in the same journal. (If my former employer would grant me access to their technical library, I would be most grateful, and might even forego any patent filing awards that I would be eligible for if I hadn’t retired. I come across at least one new Human-Computer Interface issue that could be solved each week, But I digress). (The actual link to the article was in Medscape News).

Despite high interest (no pun intended(?)) in the use of cannabis as a treatment for Parkinson’s Disease symptoms, this study  finds that actual use remains low (at least in Germany). The article appeared in  Journal of Parkinson’s Disease: Yenilmez, Ferhat et al. ‘Cannabis in Parkinson’s Disease: The Patients’ View’. 1 Jan. 2021 : 309 – 321. 11, no. 1, pp. 309-321, 2021.

Sadly, it is not available as open access, but fortunately the methods and results provide adequate data regarding the study.

Abstract:

Background: Little is known about the patients’ view on treatment with medical cannabis (MC) for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Objective: To assess the PD community’s perception of MC and patients’ experience with MC.Abstract:

Methods: Applying a questionnaire-based survey, we evaluated general knowledge and interest in MC as well as the frequency, modalities, efficacy, and tolerability of application. Questionnaires were distributed nationwide via the membership journal of the German Parkinson Association and locally in our clinic to control for report bias.

Results: Overall, 1.348 questionnaires (1.123 nationwide, 225 local) were analysed. 51% of participants were aware of the legality of MC application, 28% of various routes of administration (ROA) and 9% of the difference between delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

PD-related cannabis use was reported by 8.4% of patients and associated with younger age, living in large cities and better knowledge about the legal and clinical aspects of MC. Reduction of pain and muscle cramps was reported by more than 40% of cannabis users. Stiffness/akinesia, freezing, tremor, depression, anxiety and restless legs syndrome subjectively improved for more than 20% and overall tolerability was good. Improvement of symptoms was reported by 54% of users applying oral CBD and 68% inhaling THC-containing cannabis. Compared to CBD intake, inhalation of THC was more frequently reported to reduce akinesia and stiffness (50.0% vs. 35.4%; p < 0.05). (emphasis added) Interest in using MC was reported by 65% of non-users.

Conclusion: MC is considered as a therapeutic option by many PD patients. Nevertheless, efficacy and different ROA should further be investigated.

Some other articles on the same issue that might be of interest (All are at the above link):

The Subjective Experience of Living with Parkinson’s Disease: A Meta-Ethnography of Qualitative Literature

Does Gut Microbiota Influence the Course of Parkinson’s Disease? A 3-Year Prospective Exploratory Study in de novo Patients

Association Between Thyroid Diseases and Parkinson’s Disease: A Nested Case-Control Study Using a National Health Screening Cohort  ” The rates of levothyroxine treatment for more than 3 months, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism were higher in the PD group than the control group (3.2%, 3.8%, and 2.8% vs. 2.5%, 2.9%, and 1.9%, respectively, p  < 0.05). The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) in model 2, which was adjusted for all potential confounders, for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in the PD group were 1.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.55, p  = 0.044) and 1.37 (95% CI 1.13–1.67, p  = 0.002), respectively. 

Subthalamic Stimulation Improves Quality of Sleep in Parkinson Disease: A 36-Month Controlled Study

Diet Quality and Risk of Parkinson’s Disease: A Prospective Study and Meta-Analysis

Identification of Pre-Dominant Coping Types in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: An Abductive Content Analysis of Video-Based Narratives

Dissonance in Music Impairs Spatial Gait Parameters in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease “ Conclusion: Our observations suggest that dissonant music negatively affects particularly spatial gait parameters in PD by yet unknown mechanisms, but putatively through increased cognitive interference reducing attention in auditory cueing.”

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Exercise, Maimonides, Parkinson's, Research, Reviews , , , Leave a comment

Discrete choice experiment

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Published in the Australian Journal of Physiotherapy as an open access article, we have an experiment in which several factors were used to determine participants’ preferences in a hypothetical exercise program.

People with Parkinson’s disease are more willing to do additional exercise if the exercise program has specific attributes

Conclusions were:

People with Parkinson’s disease were more willing to participate in exercise programs that cost less, involve less travel, provide physical or psychological benefits and are supervised by qualified professionals. To enable more people with Parkinson’s disease to exercise, health services should provide programs addressing these factors and account for sex differences. [emphasis added. Men were more likely to favor strength training, women were averse to aerobic exercise, and folks already exercising 300 minutes per week were less likely to favor adding more exercises.]

The group to which I subscribe on their YouTube channel, and support in various ways, is Power For Parkinson’s® (PFP). I also am a member of the Georgetown Area Parkinson’s Support group (GAPS) and the Capital Area Parkinson’s Society (CAPS) Both PFP and GAPS sponsor several exercise groups aimed directly at people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and their needs, so I am usually working out at least one hour daily. So I might fall into the last group of folks not willing to add more exercises.

On a different tangent, A couple of articles showed up that deal with the idea of Multiple Intelligences. Actually, one is a book excerpt with selected portions available on Google Books, and the other is the cover, Table of Contents, Bibliography, and Index of a different book. Granted, the Index does list Parkinson’s Disease on at least 2 pages. Why bother? Because, as those who have read the earlier blog post(s) on Moses Maimonides and Me, I don’t particularly subscribe to Maimonides’ categories of four ways in which humans strive to achieve perfection.

These books are:

Eastern European Perspectives on Emotional Intelligence

in which some of the available pages include charts of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and some of the results which seem to show a clustering of several factors (using factor analysis). Since that is outside of my area of expertise, I won’t comment on it. (This is all copyrighted material, provided only for personal education, etc.

The other is Mind Ecologies: Body, Brain and World which has the extensive bibliography and index. Probably well worth looking into the bibliography, if one has a mind to do so (but not today). The TOC reads:

1. Life, Experimentalism, and Valuation 16
2. Pragmatism and Embodied Cognitive Science 51
3. Social Cohesion, Experience, and Aesthetics 94
4. Pragmatism and Affective Cognition 124
5. Perception, Affect, World 156
6. Broadening Ecologies 184 

and the whole thing is copyright The Columbia University Press.

My pulmonologist prescribed a nap in the morning and afternoon, and since I missed the morning nap, will head off to do one this afternoon.

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