Complementary Therapies in Parkinson Disease: a Review of Acupuncture, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga, and Cannabis.

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity, resting tremor, and postural instability. Non-motor symptoms, including pain, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, and depression to name a few, are increasingly recognized and often just as disabling at motor symptoms. The mainstay of treatment is dopamine replacement; however, the beneficial effects tend to wane over time with disease progression, and patients often experience motor fluctuations and medication side effects. The lack of a disease-modifying intervention and the shortcomings of traditional symptomatic medications have led many patients to pursue complementary therapies to alleviate motor and non-motor symptoms associated with PD. The term complementary implies that the therapy is used along with conventional medicine and may include supplements, manipulative treatments (chiropractic, massage), exercise-based programs, and mind-body practices. As these practices become more widespread in Western medicine, there is a growing interest in evaluating their effects on a number of medical conditions, PD included. In this review, we provide an update on clinical trials that have evaluated the effectiveness of complementary treatments for patients with PD, specifically focusing on acupuncture, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, yoga, and cannabis.

A case of paraneoplastic neuromyelitis optica associated with small cell lung carcinoma.

Neuromyelitis optic spectrum disorders are demyelinating conditions that are typically idiopathic, though various case reports have demonstrated an association with malignancy. We present the case of a 64year old woman with NMOSD in the setting of small cell lung cancer. She had longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis and left eye optic neuritis; aquaporin-4 antibodies were elevated. Biopsy of mediastinal adenopathy was positive for SCLC. Malignancy should be considered in any patient with an atypical presentation of NMOSD, or who does not respond to traditional therapies.

A U.S. survey of patients with Parkinson's disease: satisfaction with medical care and support groups.

Relatively little is known about patient satisfaction with Parkinson's disease (PD) care and the use of support groups in the United States. We surveyed members of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson's Disease Registry to assess satisfaction with medical care and to evaluate support group use. Satisfaction was measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with high satisfaction defined as a four or five. We used multiple logistic regression to identify factors associated with high satisfaction and support group use. The response rate was 38% (726 of 1923). Most (57%) expressed high satisfaction with PD care. Individuals were most satisfied with the time their provider spent with them (61%) and PD education (56%) but least satisfied with prognostic information (35%) and information about non-drug interventions (28%). Patients seeing a PD specialist were three times more satisfied with their care than those seeing a general neurologist (OR = 3.00, 95% CI: 1.92-4.71; P < 0.0001). Support group use is common, and 61% of survey respondents had attended one at any point. Caucasian race (OR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.45-5.61), PD duration (OR = 1.05 per year, CI: 1.01-1.10), and PD specialist care (OR = 1.80, CI: 1.16-2.77) were associated with greater support group attendance. Overall, 49% reported high satisfaction with their support group. The greatest concerns were specific needs not being addressed (15%) and insufficient expertise within the group (14%). Most individuals with Parkinson's disease expressed high levels of satisfaction, especially with specialist care. Specialty care and improved education, in the clinic or through support groups, may enhance satisfaction and health care quality.

Increasing access to specialty care: a pilot, randomized controlled trial of telemedicine for Parkinson's disease.

We conducted a randomized, controlled pilot trial to evaluate the feasibility of providing subspecialty care via telemedicine for patients with Parkinson's disease residing in a remote community located approximately 130 miles from an academic movement disorders clinic. Study participants were randomized to receive telemedicine care with a movement disorder specialist at the University of Rochester or to receive their usual care. Participants in the telemedicine group received three telemedicine visits over six months. Feasibility, as measured by the completion of telemedicine visits, was the primary outcome measure. Secondary measures were quality of life, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes. Ten participants residing in the community were randomized to receive telemedicine care (n = 6) or their usual care (n = 4). Four nursing home patients were assigned to telemedicine. Those receiving telemedicine completed 97% (29 of 30) of their telemedicine visits as scheduled. At the study's conclusion, 13 of 14 study participants opted to receive specialty care via telemedicine. Compared with usual care, those randomized to telemedicine had significant improvements in quality of life (3.4 point improvement vs. 10.3 point worsening on the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire 39; P = 0.04) and motor performance (0.3 point improvement vs. 6.5 point worsening on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, motor subscale; P = 0.03). Relative to baseline, nursing home patients experienced trends toward improvement in quality of life and patient satisfaction. Providing subspecialty care via telemedicine for individuals with Parkinson's disease living remotely is feasible.

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of latrepirdine in Huntington disease.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and tolerability of latrepirdine in Huntington disease (HD) and explore its effects on cognition, behavior, and motor symptoms. DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: Multicenter outpatient trial. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-one participants with mild to moderate HD enrolled at 17 US and UK centers from July 18, 2007, through July 16, 2008. INTERVENTION: Latrepirdine, 20 mg 3 times daily (n = 46), or matching placebo (n = 45) for a 90-day treatment period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome variable was tolerability, defined as the ability to complete the study at the assigned drug dosage. Secondary outcome variables included score changes from baseline to day 90 on the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog). RESULTS: Latrepirdine was well tolerated (87% of the patients given latrepirdine completed the study vs 82% in the placebo group), and adverse event rates were comparable in the 2 groups (70% in the latrepirdine group and 80% in the placebo group). Treatment with latrepirdine resulted in improved mean MMSE scores compared with stable performance in the placebo group (treatment effect, 0.97 points; 95% confidence interval, 0.10-1.85; P = .03). No significant treatment effects were seen on the UHDRS or the ADAS-cog. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term administration of latrepirdine is well tolerated in patients with HD and may have a beneficial effect on cognition. Further investigation of latrepirdine is warranted in this population with HD.

Telemedicine for the care of nursing home residents with Parkinson's disease.

Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) often require nursing home care, where access to neurologists is limited. Telemedicine uses information and communication technologies to provide health care to individuals who are geographically separate from providers. We present a video report of a nursing home resident with PD who received telemedicine visits over 8 months from a movement disorders specialist. The visits resulted in improvements in motor and cognitive symptoms and suggest that telemedicine may be useful for delivering care to this population.