BrainBlog

From The Times (UK): The latest Parkinson’s treatment: Wii-hab Parkinson’s disease symptoms could be controlled by a game that can be bought on every high street, says a recent study Simon Crompton 21 September 2009 [snip] This summer, the Medical College of Georgia in the United States announced the striking results of its research into the effects of “Wii-hab” on people with Parkinson’s disease. In an eight-week study, 18 people were asked to play Wii Sports, including virtual versions of boxing and ten-pin bowling, for an hour a day, three times a week for four weeks. By the end of that time all the participants showed significant improvements in rigidity, movement, fine motor skills and energy levels. Importantly, their depression levels also decreased; depression affects around half of people with Parkinson’s disease. [snip} Read the full article

This Monday, Bev Ashby, an artist, will take the plinth for her hour in the One & Hour Fourth Plinth event in Trafalgar Square. She will create a sculpture representing ataxia to promote ataxia awareness. Read article Follow at One&Other for live media stream.

From The Guardian : First person: My condition means people always assume I'm drunk Jayne Wallace The Guardian Thursday 27 August 2009 Read the article

Pagonabarraga J, Kulisevsky J, Llebaria G, García-Sánchez C, Pascual-Sedano B, & Gironell A. Parkinson's disease-cognitive rating scale: A new cognitive scale specific for Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders. 2008 Mar 31 [Epub ahead of print]. Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Department, Sant Pau Hospital, Autonomous University of Barcelona, and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain. Cognitive defects associated with cortical pathology may be a marker of dementia in Parkinson's disease (PD). There is a need to improve the diagnostic criteria of PD dementia (PDD) and to clarify the cognitive impairment patterns associated with PD. Current neuropsychological batteries designed for PD are focused on fronto-subcortical deficits but are not sensitive for cortical dysfunction. We developed a new scale, the Parkinson's Disease-Cognitive Rating Scale (PD-CRS), that was designed to cover the full spectrum of...