Thesis (M.D.)--University of New South Wales, 2000. / Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Parkinson's disease (PD) has traditionally been viewed as a movement disorder characterized by tremor, rigidity, akinesia, and impaired posture and gait, but more recent work documents a range of concomitant non-motor symptoms including changes in sensation, perception, and visuospatial cognition. PD subtypes are defined by characteristics of motor symptoms at disease onset, such as type of symptom (tremor, non-tremor) and body side of symptom onset, but the nature of the non-motor symptoms accompanying these subtypes is relatively unknown. The first two studies explored visual perceptual and spatial function in relation to PD subtypes. PD patients with non-tremor symptoms at onset were hypothesized to perform more poorly than those with tremor onset because of greater cortical and subcortical neuropathology. Patients with symptoms starting on the left side of the body were hypothesized to perform more poorly than right-onset patients on visuospatial functioning, reflecting hemispheric asymmetries in dopamine levels. The third study examined an intervention to counteract visual deficits relevant to activities of daily living (ADLs) in PD in general. Study 1 used a self-report measure to identify which visual domains are most affected in PD subtypes, as well as objective measures of visual functioning. Patients with non-tremor onset, but not those with tremor onset, had impairments in contrast sensitivity and specific visual ADLs. Study 2 used a standard neuropsychological measure to assess visuospatial functioning in PD subtypes. Patients with left-side motor symptoms at onset and non-tremor symptoms at onset performed significantly more poorly than the control group. Study 3 examined the effect of visually-based environmental enhancements on five instrumental ADLs in PD and control participants. These enhancements improved performance on specific ADLs in both groups. The present studies provided evidence for reduced contrast sensitivity, worse visuospatial functioning, and more self-reported problems with visual ADLs in the nontremor PD subtype than in those with tremor at onset, and worse visuospatial functioning in patients with left than right motor symptoms at onset. Characterizing perceptual and cognitive changes in PD subtypes provides a more complete picture of the disorder. Future studies should focus on the relation between these changes and ADLs in PD subtypes. / 2031-01-01

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the sit-to-stand (STS) transfer in normal elderly subjects and people with Parkinson’s disease, using kinematic and kinetic analysis. Design: A cross-sectional cohort study using a control group and a group of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological condition that is characterized by hypokinesia, akinesia, tremor, rigidity and postural instability. In individuals with PD, falling is a common risk and occurs most frequently during walking or other locomotor activities that involve a shift in the centre of mass, an example being the daily STS transfer. This study aimed to help the clinician gain a better understanding of the biomechanical analysis of the STS transfer in individuals with PD. Methods: Fourteen subjects with PD and fourteen age matched healthy individuals performed the STS transfer at their self-selected speed from a height-standardized seat in a laboratory setting. Analysis was based on ground reaction forces, joint angles calculated from two-dimensional kinematic data, and time to complete the task. Results: Subjects with PD took longer than control subjects to complete the STS. Also, there were differences in the ground reaction forces between individuals with PD and their age-matched controls. Conclusion: In line with other findings about movement in PD, the individuals with PD were slower, exerted less force and used different strategies than age-matched controls. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2008-01-26 10:54:10.996

The purpose of the present study was to establish the use of the power flow analysis and the subsequent phase breakdown of the movement pattern as an objective and reliable tool to document in detail movement disabilities observed in Parkinson's disease. Movement was reflected in a series of functional phases responsible for detailed muscle function around the joint as the result of the kinematic output. / The results revealed the importance of the power flow analysis as a sensitive tool for describing coordination disabilities. Similar muscle phenomena were reflected through the functional movement phases of both ability groups. However, the variability in the number of phases increased as a function of the task complexity. The statistical comparison of selected kinematic and dynamic parameters revealed significantly higher peaks for the able-bodied movement profiles. The analysis also demonstrated that the movement deficiencies observed in Parkinson's Disease cannot simply be attributed to the pure force production by the joint musculature. It seems that there is also a problem in managing and organizing the active and passive forces acting at the joint. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Thesis (M App Sc) -- University of South Australia, 1992

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 264-272). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Proefschrift--Louvain. / At head of title: Katholieke Universiteit van Leuven. Dept. of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, and the Montreal Neurological Institute, Laboratory of Neurophysiology. Laboratorium voor Biofysika, Leuven. Summaries in Flemish and French. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, 2010. / Foliation wrongly designated as pagination in thesis. Main body of thesis followed by several off-prints from author's publications. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Proefschrift--Louvain. / At head of title: Katholieke Universiteit van Leuven. Dept. of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, and the Montreal Neurological Institute, Laboratory of Neurophysiology. Laboratorium voor Biofysika, Leuven. Summaries in Flemish and French. Includes bibliography.

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