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Objective:To observe any effect of combining music exercise with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the motor control, balance and cognition of persons with Parkinson′s disease (PD).Methods:A total of 120 PD patients were randomly divided into a control group, a music exercise group, a tDCS group and a combined group, each of 30. All received routine rehabilitation training, while the music exercise, tDCS and combined groups were additionally provided with music exercise therapy, tDCS treatment or both, respectively. Version three of the unified Parkinson′s disease scale (UPDRSIII), a 10m reentry movement test, the Berg balance scale (BBS), the Activity Balance Confidence scale (ABC) and Montreal cognitive assessments were applied before and after 4 weeks of the treatments.Results:After the treatment, the average UPDRSIII score and 10m reentry movement time of the music exercise group were significantly lower than in the control group, while the average BBS and ABC scores were significantly higher than the control group′s averages. The tDCS group′s average MoCA scores on all of the items and its total score were significantly higher than those of the music exercise and control groups. The average UPDRSIII score and 10m reentry movement time of the combined group were the lowest after the treatment, and that group′s average BBS, ABC, MoCA and total scores were the highest, significantly better than the other three groups.Conclusion:Combining music exercise training with tDCS can effectively improve the motor functioning, balance and cognition of persons with PD.
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Objective:To observe any therapeutic effect of combining botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) with rehabilitation training in treating Parkinson′s disease (PD) patients with striatal foot deformity (SFD).Methods:A total of 68 PD patients with SFD were randomly divided into a control group and a treatment group. Both groups were given routine medication with pramipexole and dopamine receptor agonists and received lower limb rehabilitation training, including passive activity training, strength training and walking training. The treatment group was additionally injected with BTX-A. Sciatic pain was quantified using a visual analogue scale. The Unified Parkinson′s Disease Rating Scale-lower limb motor lower limb motor function (UPDRS-LLM) scale, the Berg balance scale and the modified Barthel index were applied to test all of the participants before the experiment and on the 7th, 14th and 30th day of the treatment.Results:The average scores of the control group on all of measures at were significantly better than those of the control group at the same time points, and by the 14th and 30th day had improved significantly compared with those before treatment.Conclusion:Supplementing rehabilitation training with BTX-A can significantly improve foot deformity and relieve the muscle tension and spastic pain of PD patients with SFD, promoting the motor functioning of their lower limbs, their balance and their performance in the activities of daily living.
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Objective:To observe any effect of combining repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) under the guidance of event related potentials (ERPs) with action observation therapy (AOT) on the cognitive and motor functioning of stroke survivors in the recovery period.Methods:Ninety stroke survivors were randomly divided into a control group, an rTMS group and an rTMS+ AOT group, each of 30. All three groups were given conventional rehabilitation treatment (including the training of waist, upper and lower limb function, balance, walking, memory, attention, orientation, spatial perception and executive ability). The rTMS group also received one session of ERP-based rTMS daily five times a week. The rTMS+ AOT group was given the same rTMS combined with AOT twice a day, five times a week. Before and after 4 weeks of treatment, the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MOCA), the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale (FMA), the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the modified Barthel index (MBI) were used to evaluate each subject′s cognitive and motor ability and their skill in the activities of daily living.Results:After the treatment, the average MMSE, MOCA, FMA, BBS and MBI scores of all groups had improved significantly, but the average MMSE, MOCA, upper limb FMA and MBI scores of the rTMS group were then significantly higher than the control group′s averages. And the average scores of the rTMS+ AOT group were significantly better than those of the other two groups.Conclusion:Combining rTMS guided by ERPs with AOT can effectively improve the cognitive functioning, motor control and balance of stroke survivors, and improve their ability in the activities of daily living.
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Objective@#To observe the influence of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on rapid eye movement sleep disorders among Parkinson′s disease (PD) patients.@*Methods@#Fifty-four PD patients were randomly divided into a treatment group (n=28) and a control group (n=26). Both groups were given routine drug treatment and nursing, while the treatment group was additionally provided with tDCS therapy. Both groups were evaluated using polysomnography (PSG), the Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), the pediatric daytime sleepiness scale (PDSS), the Epworth sleeping scale (ESS) and PD quality of life questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) before and after four months of treatment.@*Results@#There were no significant differences between the two groups before the treatment. After the treatment, significant improvement was observed in the total sleep time (TST), sleep latency (SL), sleep efficiency (SE), rapid eye movement sleep (REMS), arousal index (AI), and in the HAMD, ESS, PDSS and PDQ-39 scores among the treatment group. In the control group only the average TST and HAMD score improved significantly. After the treatment, all of the treatment group′s average results were significantly better than the control group′s averages.@*Conclusion@#tDCS can significantly improve the sleep quality of patients with PD and relieve any depression, bettering their life quality.
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Objective:To observe the influence of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on rapid eye movement sleep disorders among Parkinson′s disease (PD) patients.Methods:Fifty-four PD patients were randomly divided into a treatment group ( n=28) and a control group ( n=26). Both groups were given routine drug treatment and nursing, while the treatment group was additionally provided with tDCS therapy. Both groups were evaluated using polysomnography (PSG), the Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), the pediatric daytime sleepiness scale (PDSS), the Epworth sleeping scale (ESS) and PD quality of life questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) before and after four months of treatment. Results:There were no significant differences between the two groups before the treatment. After the treatment, significant improvement was observed in the total sleep time (TST), sleep latency (SL), sleep efficiency (SE), rapid eye movement sleep (REMS), arousal index (AI), and in the HAMD, ESS, PDSS and PDQ-39 scores among the treatment group. In the control group only the average TST and HAMD score improved significantly. After the treatment, all of the treatment group′s average results were significantly better than the control group′s averages.Conclusion:tDCS can significantly improve the sleep quality of patients with PD and relieve any depression, bettering their life quality.
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Objective To explore the effect of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation ( rTMS) com-bined with rehabilitation training on the motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Methods A total of 150 persons with Parkinson's disease were randomly divided into an rTMS group, a rehabilitation training group and an observation group, each of 50. The rTMS group received only repeated magnetic stimulation. The rehabilita-tion training group received only standard rehabilitation training. The observation group was given both for 4 weeks. The overall efficacy of each treatment was evaluated using the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale ( UPDRS) , while the motor symptoms were assessed using the 10 m back-and-forth run test, a simple test for evaluating hand function ( STEF) and Berg's balance scale. Non-motor symptoms were evaluated using a questionnaire ( NMSQ) , the mini-mental state examination ( MMSE) , the Hamilton depression scale ( HAMD) , the Hamilton anxiety scale ( HAMA) and the Parkinson's disease sleep scale ( PDSS) . Moreover, a comprehensive quality of life assessment questionnaire ( SF-36) was used to evaluate the life quality of patients before and after the treatment. Results Compared with before the treatment, the average UPDRS scores of all three groups were lower after the treatment. Moreover, the average UPDRS score of the observation group was significantly lower than those of the other two groups. Significant improvement was observed in the mean 10 m run time and in the average STEF and Berg scores of the rehabilitation training and observation groups, but not in the rTMS group's averages. After the treatment, the mean NMSQ, MMSE, HAMD, HAMA and PDSS results of the rTMS and observation groups were significantly bet-ter than those before treatment, with the observation group's averages significantly better than those of the rehabili-tation training group. The average PDSS and SF-36 scores of the observation group were also significantly better than those of the other groups. Conclusion rTMS combined with rehabilitation training can significantly improve the motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease patients, and its efficacy is superior to that of rTMS or reha-bilitation training alone.
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Objective To investigate the effect of nerve growth factor ( NGF) combined with exercise train-ing on nerve protection, learning and memory. Methods Twenty-four six-month-old APP/PS1 mice were randomly divided into a control group, an NGF group, an exercise group and an NGF combined with exercise training group ( the combined group) , each of 6. The control group mice were given 50 μL of saline intra-nasally every day, while the NGF group were given 50 μL of NGF solution (0.1 mg/ml) intranasally. The exercise group was given 50μL of saline intra-nasally plus 30 minutes of treadmill exercise daily, while the combined group was given 50μL of the NGF solution and 30 minutes of exercise. The intervention lasted 21 days. Then Morris water maze test was conducted to e-valuate the memory of all groups, and all of the mice were sacrificed and immunohistochemical staining was used to check the levels of APP, Ki-67 expression in cortex and NeuN expression in hippocampus. Results In the place navigation test, significant differences in escape latency were observed among the 4 groups, with the NGF, exercise and combined groups showing average latencies significantly shorter than that of the control group The average latency of the combined group was also significantly shorter than that of the NGF and exercise groups. In the spatial probe, there were significant differences among the 4 groups in the percentage of time spent in the target quadrant. The com-bined group′s average was significantly larger than those of the NGF and exercises groups. The immunochemistry showed that the combined group had better-arranged neurons and more cells compared with the 3 other groups. The average APP protein expression of the combined group was significantly lower than that of the other groups, but their Ki-67-positive and NeuN-positive cells were found to be significantly more numerous. Conclusion NGF combined with exercise can improve learning and memory, at least in APP/ PS1 mice. This might be associated with its reduc-ing the expression of APP and promoting the expression of Ki-67 and NeuN.
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Objective To observe the effects of treadmill training and music therapy on freezing of gait among patients with Parkinson′s disease. Methods Fifty-six Parkinson′s disease patients with freezing of gait were randomly divided into a control group, a treadmill training group, a music group and a united group, each of fourteen. All groups received standard medication. The treadmill training group and the music group were also given treadmill training and music therapy respectively. The united group received both treadmill training and music therapy. All of the patients were assessed in terms of freezing score, time to start a first step, incidence of falls, UPDRS-Ⅲ scores and MBI scores before and after 8 weeks of intervention. Results There were no sig-nificant differences among the 4 groups before the training. Significant differences were observed in all of the measurements between the treadmill training and united groups after the treatment. In the music group, only the average UPDRS-Ⅲ and MBI results were significantly improved after the treatment. Compared with the treadmill training and music groups, the united group showed significant differences in all of the measurements. Conclu-sion Treadmill training combined with music therapy is more effective than either alone in relieving gait freezing among those with Parkinson′s disease. It decreases falling and improves their capacity in the activities of daily living life, thus their quality of life.
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Objective To assess the characteristics and influencing factors of non-motor symptoms (non-motor symptoms) in untreated patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) at early stage.Methods A total of 106 untreated patients with PD at early stage and 108 healthy controls (HC) matched for age,gender,education status and occupation were investigated by non-motor symptoms questionnaire.And both of them were divided into two groups:aged group (≥60 years old) and nonaged group (＜60 years old).76 cases with an average of (66.8±6.6) years old were selected in the aged group,and 30 cases with an average of (57.3± 5.2) years old were selected in the non-aged group.The distribution of non-motor symptoms items was analyzed between two groups.The clinical characteristics of PD patients were also collected to assess the dominant influencing factors for the prevalence of non-motor symptoms.Results The total number of non-motor symptoms was significantly higher in aged PD patients and non aged PD patients than in age-matched control groups [(13±7) vs.(4±2),t=10.843; (11±4) vs.(2±1),t=12.145,both P＜0.001].The incidence of non-motor symptoms was significantly higher in aged PD patients (20 items) and non-aged PD patients (9 items) than in age-matched control groups (both P＜0.05).The constipation in aged PD patients and the olfactory disturbance in non-aged PD patients were the most frequent ones.The number of non motor symptoms was positively correlated with course of disease(r=0.413),age(r=0.385) and Hoehn-Yahr stage (r =0.318) in aged PD patients (all P ＜ 0.05).The number of non motor symptoms was positively correlated with Hoehn-Yahr stage in non-aged PD patients (r=0.306,P＜0.05).Conclusions non-motor symptoms are more frequently seen in aged and non-aged PD patients than in age-matched controls.non-motor symptoms are more common in PD patients at earl stage and the number of non-motor symptoms increases with the degree of disease severity and age.More attention should be paid to the diagnosis and rational treatment of the non-motor symptoms so as to increase treatment effectiveness.