Functional connectivity in Parkinson's Disease patients with and without freezing of gait

• Grant number: 17/09112-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 01, 2017
• End date: November 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Cendes
• Grantee: Rachel Paes Guimarães
• Supervisor: Alice Nieuwboer
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Leuven, Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/09075-9 - Longitudinal Structural and Functional connectivity analyzes in Parkinson' Disease, BP.PD

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide, and it affects 17/100.000 individuals. The main cardinal symptoms are resting tremor, bradikinesia, rigidity, freezing of gait, postural instability and bent posture. Currently, the diagnosis follows the presence of the first motor symptoms. These usually have its onset on the fifth decade of life. Freezing of gait is defined as a brief, episodic absence or marked reduction of forward progression of the feet despite the intention to walk. It is one of the most debilitating motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients as it may lead to falls and a loss of independence. The pathophysiology of FOG seems to differ from the cardinal features of PD and is still largely unknown. Thus, the main objective of the present study is to assess functional differences between Parkinson's disease patients with and without freezing of gait after a motor imagery paradigm application. (AU)