Meltem Ciliz1,2, Jennifer Sartor1,2, Tobias Lindig3, Andrea Pilotto1,2, Eva Schäffer4, Michael Weiss4, Philip Scheltens5, Sara Becker1,2, Markus A Hobert1,2,4, Daniela Berg1,2,4, Inga Liepelt-Scarfone1,2, Walter Maetzler1,2,4. 1. Department of Neurodegeneration, Center for Neurology and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. 2. DZNE, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Tuebingen, Germany. 3. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. 4. Department of Neurology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany. 5. Alzheimer Center and Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Falls are common among people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and are suggested to be associated with white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of the brain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the contribution of brain area-specific WMH to the risk of falls in IPD. METHODS: In fifty participants with IPD, occurrence and severity of WMH in specific brain areas were determined using Scheltens (without lateralization) and Age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) (with lateralization) scores. Falls were evaluated with the fall item of the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS). Correlations between area-specific WMH and falls were tested with stepwise backward regression and multivariate regression analyses. RESULTS: In this cohort of participants with IPD, left temporal WMH were associated with occurrence of falls. Frontal WMH of both hemispheres showed tendencies towards significance for the association with falls. CONCLUSION: According to our study, WMH in the left temporal area are significantly associated with falls in IPD. Potential reasons for this association could be deficits in memory, navigation, orientation, auditory processing, and fear conditioning, which are all associated with pathologies of the left temporal lobe.
BACKGROUND: Falls are common among people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and are suggested to be associated with white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of the brain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the contribution of brain area-specific WMH to the risk of falls in IPD. METHODS: In fifty participants with IPD, occurrence and severity of WMH in specific brain areas were determined using Scheltens (without lateralization) and Age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) (with lateralization) scores. Falls were evaluated with the fall item of the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS). Correlations between area-specific WMH and falls were tested with stepwise backward regression and multivariate regression analyses. RESULTS: In this cohort of participants with IPD, left temporal WMH were associated with occurrence of falls. Frontal WMH of both hemispheres showed tendencies towards significance for the association with falls. CONCLUSION: According to our study, WMH in the left temporal area are significantly associated with falls in IPD. Potential reasons for this association could be deficits in memory, navigation, orientation, auditory processing, and fear conditioning, which are all associated with pathologies of the left temporal lobe.
Authors: Johanna Geritz; Sara Maetzold; Maren Steffen; Andrea Pilotto; Marta F Corrà; Mariana Moscovich; Maria C Rizzetti; Barbara Borroni; Alessandro Padovani; Annekathrin Alpes; Corinna Bang; Igor Barcellos; Ralf Baron; Thorsten Bartsch; Jos S Becktepe; Daniela Berg; Lu M Bergeest; Philipp Bergmann; Raquel Bouça-Machado; Michael Drey; Morad Elshehabi; Susan Farahmandi; Joaquim J Ferreira; Andre Franke; Anja Friederich; Corinna Geisler; Philipp Hüllemann; Janne Gierthmühlen; Oliver Granert; Sebastian Heinzel; Maren K Heller; Markus A Hobert; Marc Hofmann; Björn Jemlich; Laura Kerkmann; Stephanie Knüpfer; Katharina Krause; Maximilian Kress; Sonja Krupp; Jennifer Kudelka; Gregor Kuhlenbäumer; Roland Kurth; Frank Leypoldt; Corina Maetzler; Luis F Maia; Andreas Moewius; Patricia Neumann; Katharina Niemann; Christian T Ortlieb; Steffen Paschen; Minh H Pham; Thomas Puehler; Franziska Radloff; Christian Riedel; Marten Rogalski; Simone Sablowsky; Elena M Schanz; Linda Schebesta; Andreas Schicketmüller; Simone Studt; Martina Thieves; Lars Tönges; Sebastian Ullrich; Peter P Urban; Nuno Vila-Chã; Anna Wiegard; Elke Warmerdam; Tobias Warnecke; Michael Weiss; Julius Welzel; Clint Hansen; Walter Maetzler Journal: BMC Geriatr Date: 2020-02-06 Impact factor: 3.921