1. Motor impairment in normal aging, clinically possible Parkinson's disease, and clinically probable Parkinson's disease: longitudinal evaluation of a cohort of prospective brain donors.
- Author
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Adler CH, Hentz JG, Joyce JN, Beach T, and Caviness JN
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Analysis of Variance, Chi-Square Distribution, Cohort Studies, Confidence Intervals, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Motor Skills Disorders diagnosis, Neuropsychological Tests statistics & numerical data, Parkinson Disease diagnosis, Predictive Value of Tests, Prospective Studies, Aging physiology, Brain Tissue Transplantation pathology, Brain Tissue Transplantation statistics & numerical data, Motor Skills Disorders physiopathology, Parkinson Disease physiopathology, Tissue Donors statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
This study presents data on the antemortem evaluations of a cohort of individuals registered in a brain donation program. Clinical evaluation determined that many individuals were unaware they had clinical signs of Parkinson's disease (PD) (rest tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity). Quantitative motor testing (timed tapping test and Purdue pegboard test) revealed a graded reduction in performance in those clinically found to have clinically possible and clinically probable PD. Longitudinal examinations over 4 years revealed some individuals progressed from control to clinically possible PD and clinically possible PD to clinically probable PD. This study underscores the importance of longitudinal antemortem testing of prospective brain donors as well as the potential value of quantitative motor testing.
- Published
- 2002
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