Clinical Research on Parkinson’s Disease: Opportunities and Challenges

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neurodegenerative Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 419

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Psychology and Pedagogy Research Center, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires C1107AFD, Argentina
2. Department of Physiology, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina
Interests: Parkinson’s disease; neuropsychological disorders; disease-modifying therapies; clinical research; epidemiology; non-motor symptoms; quality of life; technology

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Guest Editor
Center for Advanced Studies in Human and Health Sciences, Inter-American Open University, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, CAECIHS, UAICONICET, Av. Montes de Oca 745, Buenos Aires C1147AAU, Argentina
Interests: neurodegeneration; metabolic syndrome; diabetes; oxidative stress; inflammation

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Guest Editor
1. Center for Advanced Studies in Human and Health Sciences, Inter-American Open University, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, CAECIHS, UAI-CONICET, Av. Montes de Oca 745, Buenos Aires C1147AAU, Argentina
2. Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Chile, 7500912 Santiago, Chile
Interests: neurodegeneration-neuroprotection; cell biology-synapses; 3D reconstructions; electron tomography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There are no adequate animal or cellular models of the chronic, insidious development of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and most non-motor symptoms that affect patients. Therefore, clinical research is essential to better understanding the genesis, progression, and treatment of PD. Furthermore, genetic influences can only be studied using clinical studies. Quality of life is one of the most important aspects for patients; thus, more research about its determinants using observational studies is required. Finally, new treatments for non-motor features and improved therapies for motor symptoms are urgently needed.

This Special Issue includes the most recent and cutting-edge research on clinical aspects of PD, including diagnosis, the assessment of motor and non-motor symptoms, biochemical testing, the evaluation of prognostic factors, the development of machine learning/artificial intelligence algorithms, and the evaluation of treatments’ efficacy and safety. All kinds of papers, including original articles, brief reports, opinion articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis papers, are welcome. Authors from all around the world are encouraged to submit high-quality research articles to this Special Issue.

Dr. Santiago Perez-Lloret
Dr. Matilde Otero-Losada
Dr. Francisco Capani
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Parkinson’s disease
  • disease-modifying therapies
  • clinical research
  • epidemiology
  • non-motor symptoms
  • quality of life
  • technology
  • observational studies
  • randomized controlled trials

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 899 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Fatigue on Sleep and Other Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease
by Stefania Diaconu, Vlad Monescu, Rafaela Filip, Laura Marian, Cristian Kakucs, Iulia Murasan, K. Ray Chaudhuri, Dragos Catalin Jianu, Cristian Falup-Pecurariu and Bianca Opritoiu
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(4), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14040397 - 19 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Fatigue is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but even so, it may still be underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in current practice due to its non-specific manifestations. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of fatigue in PD patients [...] Read more.
Fatigue is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but even so, it may still be underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in current practice due to its non-specific manifestations. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of fatigue in PD patients compared to healthy controls and to identify the main characteristics and associations of fatigue with other non-motor symptoms and the impact of fatigue on sleep disturbances in Parkinson’s disease. Materials and methods: case–control study in which 131 PD patients and 131 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. Main characteristics of fatigue, sleep, and other non-motor symptoms were assessed using specific validated questionnaires. Results: According to the Chalder fatigue scale, fatigue is more prevalent in PD patients (38.16%) compared to healthy controls (26.71%). Fatigue was identified in 46.54% of the PD patients using the Parkinson’s Fatigue Scale (PFS-16). PD patients with fatigue presented a worse motor status, more sleep disturbances (insomnia, daytime sleepiness), a broader spectrum of non-motor symptoms (pain, anxiety, urinary disturbances), worse cognitive performances, a lower level of happiness, and worse quality of life compared to PD patients without fatigue. Conclusion: Fatigue is a common symptom of PD and needs to be assessed, considering its consequences on quality of life. Sleep disturbances have a great influence over fatigue in PD patients. Full article
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