Motor symptoms
Tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability, gait freezing, dyskinesia and on/off fluctuations.
In this category
State of the art
No update yet for Motor symptoms. An update is a standalone state-of-the-art for the topic — what someone with Parkinson's needs to know about where this approach stands today.
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Levodopa increases substantia nigra iron: implications for Parkinson's disease Dyskinesia
Prior imaging studies have found higher nigral iron in patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesia; if levodopa drives iron accumulation, this could help explain why long-term levodopa use correlates with increased dyskinesia risk. -
Observations on an Open‐Label Phase 1/2 Dopamine Gene Therapy Trial (OXB‐102/Axo‐Lenti‐PD) in People with Parkinson's Disease On/off fluctuations
In the six treated participants, a single intraputaminal infusion of OXB-102 was associated with roughly 40% improvement in UPDRS-III off-state motor scores and a ~20% reduction in daily levodopa dose, consistent with the goal of smoothing dopamine delivery and reducing off-time — though placebo effect cannot be excluded in this uncontrolled study. -
The Place of Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease: Spatial before Temporal Optimization Bradykinesia & rigidity
The clinical context of this viewpoint is the treatment of bradykinesia and rigidity, the motor symptoms most tightly linked to subthalamic beta oscillations and therefore the primary targets of both optimised conventional DBS and adaptive DBS. Better spatial programming before enabling adaptive mode is presented as the path to more consistent control of these specific symptoms. -
Patient-Calibrated Dynamical Modeling and Embedded Trend-Zone Predictive Control for Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease Dyskinesia
One established benefit of reducing unnecessary stimulation through closed-loop control is lower risk of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, which is partly driven by over-stimulation. The trend-zone predictive framework described here is explicitly designed to avoid delivering excess stimulation when beta oscillations are already within an acceptable range — a design goal with direct implications for dyskinesia management in DBS patients. -
Converging metabolic and functional networks for tremor expression and deep brain stimulation-mediated control Tremor
The study provides direct metabolic evidence (FDG-PET) that the brain circuit responsible for generating tremor — centred on the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway — is the same circuit modulated by successful DBS treatment, supporting the 'dimmer-switch' model of tremor. This cross-disorder convergence (the same network hubs appear in both essential tremor and Parkinson's tremor) suggests that symptom-specific network targeting, rather than disease-specific targeting, is what drives tremor relief across conditions. -
Parkinson’s disease: tai chi may help manage symptoms – new research Gait & freezing
Over 3.5 years, the tai chi group preserved walking ability and balance significantly better than non-exercising controls, whose motor function — including gait — declined more steeply. This is the longest follow-up data yet linking a movement-based practice to sustained gait outcomes in early-stage PD. -
Phase 3 trial of solengepras for Parkinson’s disease now fully enrolled On/off fluctuations
Solengepras targets on/off fluctuations via GPR6 blockade rather than dopamine manipulation; its Phase 2 trial showed significant reductions in daily off time and increased good on time as an add-on to levodopa, and the pivotal Phase 3 ARISE trial is now fully enrolled. -
Vyalev eases motor, nonmotor symptoms in advanced Parkinson’s On/off fluctuations
ROSSINI interim data show that 24-hour continuous subcutaneous Vyalev infusion reduced mean daily off time from ~5.2 hours to ~2.4 hours at six months in real-world advanced Parkinson's patients, supporting the clinical-trial efficacy signal in a routine-care setting. -
Loneliness predicts worse Parkinsonism: a longitudinal, community-based, clinical-pathological study
Loneliness was associated not only with worse overall parkinsonism scores at a given point in time but with a steeper trajectory of motor decline across annual assessments — suggesting that psychosocial state may be an underappreciated driver of how quickly movement problems progress, particularly in those with confirmed Lewy body pathology. -
Daily‐Life, Sensor‐Derived Tremor Measures Are Sensitive to Progression in Early Parkinson's Disease Tremor
Continuous smartwatch data capturing how often and how intensely tremor occurs in daily life detected two-year worsening that standard yearly clinic assessments largely missed; the gap in sensitivity was especially pronounced before dopaminergic medication was started, clarifying how tremor progresses in the real world versus the clinic snapshot. -
Parkinson's Disease.
Beyond the classic triad of tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia, the article details motor complications that develop over time with levodopa therapy—including "wearing-off" (return of symptoms before the next dose) and dyskinesias (involuntary movements). It reviews how device-aided therapies such as continuous intestinal gel infusion of levodopa, DBS, and focused ultrasound are used to manage these fluctuations. -
Driving motor cortex oscillations restores plasticity and improves bradykinesia features in Parkinson’s disease
This article provides direct evidence that bradykinesia — slow, small movements — can be measurably reduced (faster, wider finger taps) in Parkinson's patients within a single session of combined gamma-frequency brain stimulation, with effects that outlast the stimulation itself.