Alterations in white matter network topology contribute to freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease

JM Hall; JM Shine; KA Ehgoetz Martens; M Gilat; KM Broadhouse; JYY Szeto; CC Walton; AA Moustafa; SJG Lewis

Journal article

Alterations in white matter network topology contribute to freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease

JM Hall, JM Shine, KA Ehgoetz Martens, M Gilat, KM Broadhouse, JYY Szeto, CC Walton, AA Moustafa, SJG Lewis

Journal of Neurology | SPRINGER HEIDELBERG | Published : 2018

DOI: 10.1007/s00415-018-8846-3

Abstract

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a common symptom in advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). Despite current advances, the neural mechanisms underpinning this disturbance remain poorly understood. To this end, we investigated the structural organisation of the white matter connectome in PD freezers and PD non-freezers. We hypothesized that freezers would show an altered network architecture, which could hinder the effective information processing that characterizes the disorder. Twenty-six freezers and twenty-four well-matched non-freezers were included in this study. Using diffusion tensor imaging, we investigated the modularity and integration of the regional connectome by calculating the module degre..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Courtney Walton Author

Related Projects (1)

NON-ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE DEGENERATIVE DEMENTIAS: IDENTIFYING PRODROMAL GENETIC/FAMILIAL PHENOTYPES MODIFYING FACTORS AND PROTEIN VARIATIONS INVOLVED IN PROGRESSION

This proposal will generate new knowledge necessary for advancing the diagnosis of the non-Alzheimer’s disease dementias. We will identify t..

Grants

Awarded by University of Sydney

Funding Acknowledgements

We thank the patients and their families who contribute to our research at the Parkinson's Disease Research Clinic. This research was supported by Sydney Informatics Hub, funded by the University of Sydney. JMH is supported by a Western Sydney University Postgraduate Research Award; JMS is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council CJ Martin Fellowship (1072403); KAEM is supported by a Parkinson Canada Fellowship; MG is supported by a University of Sydney International Scholarship; SJGL is supported by National Health and Medical Research Council-Australian Research Council Dementia Fellowship (# 1110414) and this work was supported by funding to Forefront, a collaborative research group dedicated to the study of non-Alzheimer disease degenerative dementias, from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia program grant (# 1037746 and # 1095127). KMB, JYYS, CCW, and AAM have no funding source to disclose.