Anxiety, depression, and quality of life in Parkinson's disease: the implications of multidisciplinary treatment.

Anxiety and depression in Parkinson's disease (PD) reduce well-being of the patients. Emotional alterations influence motor skills and cognitive performance; moreover, they contribute significantly and independently to worsen rehabilitative treatment response. We investigated anxiety, depression, and quality of life in PD patients subjected to multidisciplinary rehabilitative training. The self-controlled study included 100 PD patients (49 males and 51 females with the mean age of 64.66 years) admitted to 60 days hospitalization rehabilitative program, between January 2017 and December 2018. Motor, cognitive, linguistic abilities, and functional independence were evaluated at admission (T0 baseline visit) and 60 days after (T1) the multidisciplinary rehabilitation including motor exercises, speech therapies, and cognitive intervention. The multidisciplinary rehabilitation improved functional status in PD patients and exerted its positive effects on mood, motor abilities, autonomy in the activities of daily life, perception of quality of life, cognitive performance and speech skills. Non-motor symptoms may worsen severe disability and reduce quality of life. They are often poorly recognized and inadequately treated. Nonetheless, multidisciplinary rehabilitative training represents an optimal strategy to improve disease management. The study was approved by Istituito di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Centro Neurolesi "Bonino-Pulejo" Ethical Committee (approval No. 6/2016) in June 2016.

Is Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Effective in Treating Severe Dysarthria: Insights from a Case Study.

BACKGROUND: Dysarthria refers to a group of disorders resulting from disturbances in neuromuscular control over the speech mechanisms due to damage of the central nervous system (CNS) or peripheral nervous system (PNS). Rehabilitation outcomes of dysarthria significantly depend on the collaboration skills of the patients. This case study aimed to investigate the potential role of neuromuscular electric stimulation (NMES) in improving severe dysarthria. An 18-year-old man affected by severe dysarthria following postanoxic brain injury underwent two different intensive rehabilitation trainings: conventional rehabilitation alone, followed by NMES training alone. We evaluated patient articulation function before and after each training. The overall NMES program was scheduled in daily sessions of 30 minutes, six days a week, for four consecutive weeks. The patient did not report any side effects either during or following both types of intensive rehabilitation training. However, a clear reduction of dysarthria severity was observed only after the NMES training. CONCLUSION: NMES could allow for improved articulator expression and vocal parameters, thus enhancing communication skills, when conventional articulation treatments are not possible or are ineffective.

Neuropsychological functions and psychiatric symptoms in late-onset manifestation of pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration: a clinical case report.

Purpose of the study: Pantothenate Kinase-associated Neurodegeneration (PKAN) is a form of Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) due to gene mutations. Classical phenotype showed progressive neurological symptoms associated to a characteristic pattern of basal ganglia iron deposits. The atypical case, with adult-onset manifestation, could have neuropsychiatric symptoms with behavioral deficits. We described an adult-onset case of Pantothenate Kinase-associated Neurodegeneration.Materials and methods: The patient underwent neuropsychological and psychiatric evaluation and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, respectively for cognitive and behavioral assessment and to confirm the characteristic findings of this syndrome.Results: The patient showed atypical phenotype of Pantothenate Kinase-associated Neurodegeneration, characterized by language deficits, dixesecutive, and psychiatric manifestations, such as obsessive ideation, impulsivity, and disinhibition.Conclusions: This description could be helpful to a more correct diagnosis and clinical management.

Are You There? The Growing Need to Get the Right Diagnosis in Disorder of Consciousness.

Disorder of consciousness (DOC) can be either an acute and reversible condition or a chronic condition, including vegetative state or minimally conscious state. Herein, we describe a patient who has unexpectedly recovered consciousness after being in a misdiagnosed vegetative state for a long period. A 63-year-old woman was admitted to our rehabilitation center in vegetative state (Coma Recovery Scale-Revised score, 6) and treated with a standard rehabilitation program, including physical therapy and multisensory stimulation, besides psychoactive drugs. After 26 months of such training, she progressively presented with unexpected signs of awareness. Thus, she was submitted to an intensive cognitive rehabilitation with a significant improvement of her performance (Coma Recovery Scale-Revised score, 19). With this report, we want to underline that the early use of paraclinical methods, including neuroimaging and neurophysiological paradigms, is mandatory in DOC to reach a more accurate diagnosis and perform the most appropriate neurorehabilitation. Moreover, diagnosis of functional locked-in syndrome should be considered because some patients with DOC may have covert awareness with the impossibility to display consistent and reproducible behaviors due to a "motor-cognitive dissociation."