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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive and irreversible disease and the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. In Spain, it affects around 120.000-150.000 individuals, and its prevalence is estimated to increase in the future. PD has a great impact on patients' and caregivers' lives and also entails a substantial socioeconomic burden. The aim of the present study was to examine the current situation and the 10-year PD forecast for Spain in order to optimize and design future management strategies. This study was performed using the modified Delphi method to try to obtain a consensus among a panel of movement disorders experts. According to the panel, future PD management will improve diagnostic capacity and follow-up, it will include multidisciplinary teams, and innovative treatments will be developed. The expansion of new technologies and studies on biomarkers will have an impact on future PD management, leading to more accurate diagnoses, prognoses, and individualized therapies. However, the socio-economic impact of the disease will continue to be significant by 2030, especially for patients in advanced stages. This study highlighted the unmet needs in diagnosis and treatment and how crucial it is to establish recommendations for future diagnostic and therapeutic management of PD.

Background: Multimodal Neuro-Monitoring advances the treatment of patients through continuous monitoring of different parameters and generates high volumes of electronically available data [ref:1]. One possibility to analyze this “tsunami” of data is Visual Analytics (VA) which[for full text, please go to the a.m. URL], 64. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie e.V. (GMDS)

Open-label extensions [studies SP516 (NCT00501969) and SP715 (NCT00594386)] of the CLEOPATRA-PD and PREFER studies were conducted to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the dopaminergic agonist, rotigotine, over several years of follow-up in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). Eligible subjects completing the double-blind trials received open-label adjunctive rotigotine (≤16 mg/24 h) for up to 4 and 6 years in Studies SP516 and SP715, respectively. Safety and tolerability were assessed using adverse events, vital signs and laboratory parameters, and efficacy assessed using the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS). Of the 395 and 258 patients enrolled in the SP516 and SP715 studies, 48 and 45 % completed, respectively. Adverse events were typically dopaminergic effects [e.g., somnolence (18–25 %/patient-year), insomnia (5–7 %/patient-year), dyskinesias (4–8 %/patient-year) and hallucinations (4–8 %/patient-year)], or related to the transdermal application of a patch (application site reactions: 14–15 %/patient-year). There were no clinically relevant changes in vital signs or laboratory parameters in either study. Mean UPDRS part II (activities of daily living) and part III (motor function) total scores improved from double-blind baseline during dose titration, then gradually declined over the maintenance period. In study SP516, mean UPDRS part II and III total scores were 0.8 points above and 2.8 points below double-blind baseline, respectively, at end of treatment. In study SP715, mean UPDRS part II and III total scores were 4.1 points above and 0.2 points below baseline, respectively, at end of treatment. In these open-label studies, adjunctive rotigotine was efficacious with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile in patients with advanced PD for up to 6 years.

Summary We present the results of an open, prospective, multicentric study including 450 patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease (PD) converted from standard Sinemet to Sinemet CR (controlled release; Dupont Pharma, Pavia, Italy). Patients with complex fluctuations and diphasic dyskinesias were excluded and the conversion was made after some recommendations, depending on the clinical problems and the daily dosage and administration schedule of standard (STD) Sinemet. The condition of more than 60% of the patients improved after the change and 80% of them preferred the CR formulation by the end of the study. We found a moderate, but significant, improvement in most of the efficacy parameters used, such as the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), the Schawb and England scale, and dyskinesias and sleep questionnaires. Forty-five patients (10%) discontinued the study due to adverse effects (mainly gastrointestinal disturbances, functional deterioration, and dyskinesias). We conclude that Sinemet CR is a useful and safe therapeutic option in patients with mild and moderate PD. Selection of the patients is the most important outcome factor.

A Task Force was convened by the EFNS/MDS-ES Scientist Panel on Parkinson's disease (PD) and other movement disorders to systemically review relevant publications on the diagnosis of PD.Following the EFNS instruction for the preparation of neurological diagnostic guidelines, recommendation levels have been generated for diagnostic criteria and investigations.For the clinical diagnosis, we recommend the use of the Queen Square Brain Bank criteria (Level B). Genetic testing for specific mutations is recommended on an individual basis (Level B), taking into account specific features (i.e. family history and age of onset). We recommend olfactory testing to differentiate PD from other parkinsonian disorders including recessive forms (Level A). Screening for pre-motor PD with olfactory testing requires additional tests due to limited specificity. Drug challenge tests are not recommended for the diagnosis in de novo parkinsonian patients. There is an insufficient evidence to support their role in the differential diagnosis between PD and other parkinsonian syndromes. We recommend an assessment of cognition and a screening for REM sleep behaviour disorder, psychotic manifestations and severe depression in the initial evaluation of suspected PD cases (Level A). Transcranial sonography is recommended for the differentiation of PD from atypical and secondary parkinsonian disorders (Level A), for the early diagnosis of PD and in the detection of subjects at risk for PD (Level A), although the technique is so far not universally used and requires some expertise. Because specificity of TCS for the development of PD is limited, TCS should be used in conjunction with other screening tests. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging at 1.5 T are recommended as neuroimaging tools that can support a diagnosis of multiple system atrophy (MSA) or progressive supranuclear palsy versus PD on the basis of regional atrophy and signal change as well as diffusivity patterns (Level A). DaTscan SPECT is registered in Europe and the United States for the differential diagnosis between degenerative parkinsonisms and essential tremor (Level A). More specifically, DaTscan is indicated in the presence of significant diagnostic uncertainty such as parkinsonism associated with neuroleptic exposure and atypical tremor manifestations such as isolated unilateral postural tremor. Studies of [(123) I]MIBG/SPECT cardiac uptake may be used to identify patients with PD versus controls and MSA patients (Level A). All other SPECT imaging studies do not fulfil registration standards and cannot be recommended for routine clinical use. At the moment, no conclusion can be drawn as to diagnostic efficacy of autonomic function tests, neurophysiological tests and positron emission tomography imaging in PD.The diagnosis of PD is still largely based on the correct identification of its clinical features. Selected investigations (genetic, olfactory, and neuroimaging studies) have an ancillary role in confirming the diagnosis, and some of them could be possibly used in the near future to identify subjects in a pre-symptomatic phase of the disease.