TPU and SSMU examine patients with neurodegenerative disorders
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Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic (TPU), Siberian State Medical University (SSMU) and the Research Institute of Medical Genetics are conducting a study of neuropsychiatric disorders in Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases in patients; they assess the likelihood of non-motor disorders in patients and their relatives.
Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease are chronic neurodegenerative diseases with an early onset and progressive course. The disease results in marked motor impairment, a significant reduction in quality of life for patients and their relatives, and the need for constant care.
"The trend (toward more cases of neurodegenerative diseases) could result in the number of patients doubling on average by 2030. Diagnosing emotional-affective, cognitive and psychotic disorders in patients and those around them is an (important) task", – the press service quotes the Head of the Tomsk Neuronet Center Maria Nikitina.
The study of neuropsychiatric disorders in patients with Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases and their loved ones involved 420 people: 200 patients with Parkinson's disease, 20 patients with Huntington's disease, 100 relatives and 100 people caring for the patients. They were interviewed according to an individual registration card, and a clinical, neurological, and neuropsychological examination was performed.
"The examination (was conducted) to assess emotional-affective, cognitive, behavioral, and psychotic manifestations over time. Researchers studied diseases caused by trinucleotide repeat expansion... Medical professionals interviewed patients and their relatives, sampled the necessary data, and polytechnicians processed the data using machine learning techniques", – the report said.
The study allowed for the first time to obtain data on the dynamics of a wide range of non-motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease with different clinical forms and stages of the disease. Based on these data, the scientists developed and patented two algorithms for diagnosis and correction of non-motor disorders in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, emphasizes the report.
The study will assess the likelihood of developing non-motor disorders in patients and their relatives, based on analysis of their medical data, and compile a complete database. This work will be continued; scientists have already applied for a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, says the report.