BACKGROUND: Parkinson\'s disease is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative process characterized by tremor at rest, bradykinesia, stiffness, disorders in postural control, balance and gait. Kinesiology tape has a somatosensory stimulating effect, with benefits in postural control.
METHODS: A pilot study with a Physiotherapy Intervention Group and an Experimental Group (kinesiology tape was added) in gastrocnemius and lumbar spinal erectors. Outcome assessments were Berg scale, Tinetti scale (walking subscale), 10m test, TUG test, PDQ-39 and gastrocnemius electromyographic record. Three measurements were made: T0 (baseline), T1 (two days post-intervention) and T2 (one week post-intervention); PDQ-39 was administered at T0 and one month after the intervention.
RESULTS: Thirteen participants (stage III Hoehn and Yahr) were selected after applying the inclusion criteria (nine women and four men). N=7 Experimental Group and N=6 Physiotherapy Group. The intra-group contrast showed significant improvements in favor of the Experimental Group in Berg scale (T1 and T2), 10m test (T2) and in lower mean gastrocnemius muscle activity (T1). The inter-group contrast only evidenced differences in electromyographic recording of the muscle contraction of the right lower limb, after the application of kinesiology tape, in T1.
CONCLUSIONS: The application of kinesiology tape in the lumbar spinal erectors and gastrocnemius bilaterally could improve gait and balance, in subjects with Parkinson\'s disease in Hoehn and Yahr stage III, but its effect is not superior to conventional physiotherapy treatment.

Fatigue and balance impairment leads to a loss of independence and are important to adequately manage. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of a resistance training program on dynamic balance and fatigue in patients with Parkinson\'s disease (PD).
Randomized controlled trial. Forty-six patients with PD were randomly allocated to an intervention group receiving a 8-week resistance training program focused on lower limbs or to a control group. Balance was assessed using the Mini-BESTest and fatigue was assessed by the Piper Fatigue Scale.
Patients in the intervention group improved significantly (p<0.05) on dynamic balance (reactive postural control and total values) and perceived fatigue.
An 8-week resistance training program was found to be effective at improving dynamic balance and fatigue in patients with PD.

BACKGROUND: Although antidepressants are widely used in Parkinson\'s disease (PD), few well-designed studies to support their efficacy have been conducted.
METHODS: These clinical guidelines are based on a review of the literature and the results of an AMN movement disorder study group survey.
CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that nortriptyline, venlafaxine, paroxetine, and citalopram may be useful in treating depression in PD, although studies on paroxetine and citalopram yield conflicting results. In clinical practice, however, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are usually considered the treatment of choice. Duloxetine may be an alternative to venlafaxine, although the evidence for this is less, and venlafaxine plus mirtazapine may be useful in drug-resistant cases. Furthermore, citalopram may be indicated for the treatment of anxiety, atomoxetine for hypersomnia, trazodone and mirtazapine for insomnia and psychosis, and bupropion for apathy. In general, antidepressants are well tolerated in PD. However, clinicians should consider the anticholinergic effect of tricyclic antidepressants, the impact of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors on blood pressure, the extrapyramidal effects of antidepressants, and any potential interactions between monoamine oxidase B inhibitors and other antidepressants.

BACKGROUND: Speech disturbances will affect most patients with Parkinson\'s disease (PD) over the course of the disease. The origin and severity of these symptoms are of clinical and diagnostic interest.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical pattern of speech impairment in PD patients and identify significant differences in speech rate and articulation compared to control subjects. Speech rate and articulation in a reading task were measured using an automatic analytical method.
METHODS: A total of 39 PD patients in the \'on\' state and 45 age-and sex-matched asymptomatic controls participated in the study. None of the patients experienced dyskinesias or motor fluctuations during the test.
RESULTS: The patients with PD displayed a significant reduction in speech and articulation rates; there were no significant correlations between the studied speech parameters and patient characteristics such as L-dopa dose, duration of the disorder, age, and UPDRS III scores and Hoehn & Yahr scales.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PD show a characteristic pattern of declining speech rate. These results suggest that in PD, disfluencies are the result of the movement disorder affecting the physiology of speech production systems.

BACKGROUND: In the past 10 years, bullous pemphigoid has been associated with other comorbidities and neurologic and psychiatric conditions in particular. Case series, small case-control studies, and large population-based studies in different Asian populations, mainland Europe, and the United Kingdom have confirmed this association. However, no data are available for the Spanish population.
METHODS: This was an observational, retrospective, case-control study with 1:2 matching. Fifty-four patients with bullous pemphigoid were selected. We compared the percentage of patients in each group with concurrent neurologic conditions, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and solid tumors using univariate logistic regression. An association model was constructed with conditional multiple logistic regression.
RESULTS: The case group had a significantly higher percentage of patients with cerebrovascular accident and/or transient ischemic attack (odds ratio [OR], 3.06; 95% CI, 1.19-7.87], dementia (OR, 5.52; 95% CI, 2.19-13.93), and Parkinson disease (OR, 5; 95% CI, 1.57-15.94). A significantly higher percentage of cases had neurologic conditions (OR, 6.34; 95% CI, 2.89-13.91). Dementia and Parkinson disease were independently associated with bullous pemphigoid in the multivariate analysis.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with bullous pemphigoid have a higher frequency of neurologic conditions.