Sinais e Sintomas Motores da Doença de Parkinson: Caracterização, Tratamento e Quantificação

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with progressive motor symptoms. PD is among the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases in older adults. With the increase in life expectancy, it is estimated that by 2020 more than 40 million of people worldwide will have PD. PD causes pathophysiological changes that produce typical neurological symptoms, also called cardinal signs, such as bradykinesia, muscle stiffness, rest and postural tremor. Currently the diagnosis of PD is purely clinical, there is no exam, quantitative test or biomarker capable of indicating the disease diagnosis. In general, PD is assessed using subjective scales, the most commonly used is the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), which is divided into four parts to serve as a guide in the motor and non-motor evaluation of the patient. PD treatment is mostly symptomatic and it aims to maintain and improve functional independence and reduce patient discomfort. The treatment options are: drugs (e.g. levodopa), surgeries (e.g. deep brain stimulation), and rehabilitation therapies. Although PD still does not have cure, many research focuses on the development of objective techniques and tools to aid in diagnosis, especially in the early disease diagnosis. Studies indicate that early diagnosed patients have reduced disease progression and delayed fall episodes; these factors may provide greater longevity to the patient. In order to make possible the objective disease diagnosis by means of quantitative tools, several studies are dedicated to develop and evaluate sensors for this purpose. There are several sensors that can be used to quantify the PD motor signs, and the choice of these is made according to the objectives of the current studies, and the particularities of the patient. The most commonly used sensors include the inertial sensor, which is capable of tracking one or more limbs of the patient in three-dimensional space, so as to transform the patient’s movements that are imperceptible to the human naked eye into quantitative values. We hope that the information presented in this chapter is useful for those who are looking for up-to-date information on PD. The content presented here is the result of the literature review and the experience of the authors who work in research, rehabilitation and treatment of PD