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Early Parkinson's disease (PD) may cause respiratory dysfunction; however the findings vary among studies. The aim of the preliminary prospective observational study was to explore the deterioration of pulmonary function at various stages in patients with early PD. A total of 237 patients with PD were screened. Fifty-six patients were included (modified Hoehn and Yahr stage ≤ 2.5). In addition, 56 age-matched healthy controls were also included in the study. Significant differences between the PD and control groups were found in all the investigated lung-function parameters. The maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) percent predicted was the only parameter that distinguished PD stages (101.1 ± 14.9% vs. 82.8 ± 19.2% vs. 71.4 ± 12.9%, Hoehn and Yahr stages 1.5 vs. 2 vs. 2.5, respectively; p < 0.005). MVV could be the most sensitive parameter for distinguishing the severity of early-stage PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Efficient methods for assessing walking adaptability in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) are urgently needed. Therefore, this study aimed to assess C-Gait for detecting freezing of gait (FOG) in patients with early- to middle-stage PD. Method: People with PD (PWP) diagnosis (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1–3) were recruited from April 2019 to November 2019 in Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital. The participants performed six items of walking adaptability on an instrumented treadmill augmented with visual targets and obstacles (C-Mill). The patient's walking adaptability was evaluated by C-Gait assessment and traditional walking tests, and FOG-related indexes were collected as outcome measures. Two discriminant models were established by stepwise discriminant analysis; area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to validate the models. Result: In total, 53 patients were included in this study. Most C-Gait assessment items had no or low correlations with traditional walking tests. The obstacle avoidance (r = −0.639, P = 0.003) and speed of adaptation (r = −0.486, P = 0.035) items could lead to FOG with high sensitivity. In addition, the C-Gait assessment model (AUC = 0.755) had slightly better discrimination of freezers from non-freezers compared with traditional walking test models (AUC = 0.672); specifically, obstacle avoidance and speed of adaptation have uniquely discriminant potential. Conclusion: C-gait assessment could provide additional value to the traditional walking tests for PD. Gait adaptability assessment, as measured by C-Gait, may be able to help identify freezers in a PD population. Patients with early- to middle-stage PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1–3) were enrolled for C-Gait assessment and traditional walking ability assessments. The correlation of C-Gait assessment and traditional walking tests were studied. Two models were established based on C-Gait assessment and traditional walking tests to explore the value of C-Gait assessment in predicting freezing of gait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As one of the imaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease, lacunes has received little attention. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations of lacunes, cognition and motor function in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and whether these associations are independent of other imaging markers. Methods: Patients were consecutively included from April 2019 to July 2022 in Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital. All patients underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging scans, clinical scale evaluations, and neuropsychological tests, as well as quantitative evaluation of postural control. To eliminate the possible factors contributing to cognition and motor dysfunction in patients with PD, in particular white matter hyperintensities and enlarged perivascular space in the basal ganglia, multivariate linear regression models were constructed to sort out the effect of lacunes. Results: Ninety‐four patients were included in this study, 56 without lacunes and 38 with lacunes. Patients with lacunes showed shorter disease duration, slower gait speed and spent more time on Trail‐Making Test part A (TMT‐A) than those without lacunes. The number of lacunes were positively correlated with the time to complete the TMT‐A and negatively related to gait speed. Multivariate linear regression models showed that the presence of lacunes was associated with longer TMT‐A time after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusions: Lacunes were independently associated with worse visual scanning, attention, and processing speed in patients with PD. In addition, lacunes may accelerate the course of PD. Early treatment of vascular disease provides an alternate way to mitigate some motor and cognitive dysfunction in patients with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rehabilitation has been reported to improve the quality of life (QoL) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Nevertheless, not all patients are satisfied with rehabilitation outcomes and could achieve a significant improvement in QoL. Objective: To detect possible predictors of QoL improvement in patients with PD after rehabilitation. Methods: A total of 86 PD patients were included and followed up for 3 months with a 39‐item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire summary index (PDQ‐39 SI) as the primary endpoint. All patients received 2 weeks of multidisciplinary intensive rehabilitation treatment (MIRT). Changes in patients' QoL were assessed using the PDQ‐39 at baseline and at the 3‐month follow‐up. The reliable change index (RCI) was adapted to determine the individual QoL outcome. The predictors of QoL outcome were detected using logistic regression analysis. Results: After a 3‐month follow‐up, PDQ‐39 SI decreased significantly from 22.95 ± 9.75 to 18.73 ± 10.32 (P < 0.001). Scores for QoL improved (RCI>10.9) after rehabilitation for 18.6% of the patients, and 74.4% of patients reported an unchanged QoL (−10.9≤RCI≤10.9), while 7.0% of patients reported a worsening of QoL (RCI<−10.9). Among the baseline parameters, the PDQ‐39 SI was a baseline predictor for changes in QoL in the logistic regression model (OR: 1.15, CI: 1.07–1.24, P < 0.001). Conclusions: MIRT could improve QoL for some patients with PD, and PDQ‐39 score at baseline is the most important predictor for QoL improvements after rehabilitation for this patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]