Our research

Motor impairments are common among people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). In older people in general, some motor abilities seem to decline prior to the development of a major neurocognitive disorder, i.e. dementia. Our research primarily involves patients with PD and those at risk of developing dementia.

We address health from a broad perspective, including body functions, activities, and participation but also contextual factors such as personal and environmental factors. A specific research focus targets motor aspects (e.g. gait- and balance problems) and cognitive-motor interference by using the dual-task paradigm. Our data collections combine patient-reported outcomes, clinical assessments, and wearable technology but we also use data on biomarkers and brain imaging.

Aims

• Increased understanding of the consequences of living and aging with a neurodegenerative disease and how health and accessibility problems evolve.

• Identify outcome measures that are valid and reliable for use in clinical and research settings.

• Determine how motor aspects and cognitive-motor interference evolve over time in different cohorts, including identifying predictive factors.

• Identify brain pathologies (using biomarkers and brain imaging) that are independently associated with specific motor aspects and cognitive-motor interference.

• Determine whether specific motor aspects and cognitive-motor interference can be of diagnostic/prognostic value.

Impact

The knowledge gained is anticipated to nurture new interventions or strengthening existing ones (e.g. pinpointing relevant components to address). Moreover, knowledge from our projects may assist clinicians and researchers in choosing relevant, valid, reliable, and sensitive outcome measures.

How our research contributes to the goals of MultiPark

In our longitudinal studies, we aim to gain an increased understanding of the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including determining predictive and prognostic factors. Our research addresses the aims of MultiPark's working groups 5 and 7. 

Research Team & Publications

Our group is a specific subgroup within a larger context of Clinical Memory Research and Active and Healthy Ageing Research Group.

Read about publications and research team members of the Clinical Memory Research in the LU Research Portal.