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Hand function is impaired in healthy older adults at risk of Parkinson’s disease

  • Neurology and Preclinical Neurological Studies - Original Article
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Abstract

Abnormal substantia nigra morphology in healthy individuals, viewed with transcranial ultrasound, is a significant risk factor for Parkinson’s disease. However, little is known about the functional consequences of this abnormality (termed ‘hyperechogenicity’) on movement. The aim of the current study was to investigate hand function in healthy older adults with (SN+) and without (SN−) substantia nigra hyperechogenicity during object manipulation. We hypothesised that SN+ subjects would exhibit increased grip force and a slower rate of force application compared to SN− subjects. Twenty-six healthy older adults (8 SN+ aged 58 ± 8 years, 18 SN− aged 57 ± 6 years) were asked to grip and lift a light-weight object with the dominant hand. Horizontal grip force, vertical lift force, acceleration, and first dorsal interosseus EMG were recorded during three trials. During the first trial, SN+ subjects exhibited a longer period between grip onset and lift onset (i.e. preload duration; 0.27 ± 0.25 s) than SN− subjects (0.13 ± 0.08 s; P = 0.046). They also exerted a greater downward force prior to lift off (−0.54 ± 0.42 N vs. −0.21 ± 0.12 N; P = 0.005) and used a greater grip force to lift the object (19.5 ± 7.0 N vs. 14.0 ± 4.3 N; P = 0.022) than SN− subjects. No between group differences were observed in subsequent trials. SN+ subjects exhibit impaired planning for manipulation of new objects. SN+ individuals over-estimate the grip force required, despite a longer contact period prior to lifting the object. The pattern of impairment observed in SN+ subjects shares similarities with de novo Parkinson’s disease patients.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Flinders Medical Centre Ultrasound Department for assistance with data collection. This work was supported by research funding from Parkinson’s South Australia (GT holds a research grant, PLF holds a Norman Weir Scholarship), Coopers Brewery Foundation, The Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation, University of South Australia, and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (GT and OP hold Career Development Fellowships (ID627003 and APP1022684, respectively), CR, JT, and KLD hold/held Senior Research Fellowships, SCG holds a Senior Principal Research Fellowship). We are grateful for a research donation from the 2011 ‘Long Table Dinner’.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences and Sansom Institute, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia

    Gabrielle Todd, Miranda Haberfield & Patrick L. Faulkner

  2. Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia

    Caroline Rae, Janet L. Taylor, Simon C. Gandevia, Olivier Piguet & Kay L. Double

  3. University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Caroline Rae, Janet L. Taylor, Simon C. Gandevia & Olivier Piguet

  4. Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Concord, NSW, 2139, Australia

    Michael Hayes

  5. Department of Neurology, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, SA, 5042, Australia

    Robert A. Wilcox

  6. Human Physiology, Medical School, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, 5042, Australia

    Robert A. Wilcox

  7. Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hoppe-Seyler-Strasse 3, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Jana Godau & Daniela Berg

  8. Department of Neurology, Klinikum Kassel GmbH, Mönchebergstr. 41-43, 34125, Kassel, Germany

    Jana Godau

  9. Discipline of Biomedical Science, School of Medical Sciences, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Darlington, NSW, 2008, Australia

    Kay L. Double

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  1. Gabrielle Todd
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  2. Miranda Haberfield
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Correspondence to Gabrielle Todd.

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Todd, G., Haberfield, M., Faulkner, P.L. et al. Hand function is impaired in healthy older adults at risk of Parkinson’s disease. J Neural Transm 121, 1377–1386 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-014-1218-y

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