Advances in Neurophysiology and the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Neurobiology and Clinical Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 163

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department o f Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G. F. Ingrassia, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Interests: movement disorders; hypokinetic movement disorders; Parkinson’s disease; atypical parkinsonisms; progressive supranuclear palsy; corticobasal syndome; multiple system atrophy; levodopa; neurophysiology; clinical neurophysiology; neurophysiology of movement disorders; peripheral diseases; myasthenia gravis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Numerous studies of levodopa treatment, neurophysiology, and neuroplasticity in Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been conducted in recent years. However, the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of and neuroplasticity in PD remain largely unknown. This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in the evaluation of the synergistic effect between levodopa and motor learning on neurophysiological markers and neuroplasticity, especially in early PD. Topics of interest include the pharmacologic role of levodopa, the importance of neurophysiological markers as diagnostic tools for the disease, the application of motor learning strategies, and the multifactorial influence on neuroplasticity. We invite contributions that provide insights into novel observations on neurophysiological and treatment features with the aim of deeply understanding how to optimize diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for PD, especially at the early stage of the disease.

Dr. Giorgia Sciacca
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • movement disorders
  • hypokinetic movement disorders
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • levodopa
  • treatment
  • neurophysiology
  • neuroplasticity
  • motor learning

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 845 KB  
Article
L-Dopa Comparably Improves Gait and Limb Movements in Parkinson’s Disease: A Wearable Sensor Analysis
by Alessandro Zampogna, Luca Pietrosanti, Giovanni Saggio, Martina Patera, Marco Falletti, Valentina Bellia, Francesco Fattapposta, Giovanni Costantini and Antonio Suppa
Biomedicines 2025, 13(11), 2727; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13112727 - 6 Nov 2025
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Spatio-temporal gait parameters have been proposed as surrogate markers for objective, remote monitoring of global motor status in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our observational, cross-sectional pilot study tested whether gait metrics, derived from wearable sensors, reflect dopaminergic responsiveness in both axial and [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Spatio-temporal gait parameters have been proposed as surrogate markers for objective, remote monitoring of global motor status in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our observational, cross-sectional pilot study tested whether gait metrics, derived from wearable sensors, reflect dopaminergic responsiveness in both axial and appendicular functions. Methods: Twenty-two PD patients were evaluated both under and not under L-Dopa (ON and OFF states, respectively). Motor performance was assessed using wearable inertial sensors during standardized tasks involving gait and upper/lower limb movements. From the recorded kinematics, measures of movement amplitude, speed, rhythm, and consistency were extracted, and dopaminergic response was compared in appendicular and axial functions. Results: Treatment effects were more pronounced on the more affected body side. Improvements in appendicular amplitude, speed, and consistency closely matched those observed in spatio-temporal gait parameters. In contrast, rhythm measures displayed a divergent pattern, with reduced gait cadence but increased hand movement frequency, showing an inverse correlation. No significant correlations emerged between axial and appendicular domains for amplitude, velocity, or consistency, whereas improvements in step length and gait velocity were associated with MDS-UPDRS III motor scores. Conclusions: These findings overall suggest that specific gait metrics, particularly those reflecting amplitude and velocity, may provide reliable, sensor-based indicators of overall motor status in PD, supporting their use in remote monitoring. Full article
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