Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program Round 12 - 2024
Project Investigators:
Todd Coleman, Bioengineering
Helen Bronte-Stewart, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Abstract:
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease. In the US alone, it affects approximately 1.5 million people, and the number of individuals living with PD is projected to double by 2040. While PD is currently classified as a movement disorder, non-motor features, such as gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction, have become increasingly recognized for their significant impact on quality of life, often surpassing the impact of motor symptoms. However, prevalent and debilitating GI symptoms are often overlooked in clinical decision-making processes because their assessment has primarily relied on subjective and non-standardized questionnaires. Furthermore, the impact of standard treatments for motor symptoms in PD, such as dopamine medication and deep brain stimulation, on non-motor symptoms like GI function is incompletely understood. In this project, we will apply portable and precise measures of motor and gastric function to understand GI function in PD and how it changes in response to common PD treatments. The use of these two technologies in tandem will provide a clearer picture of the relationship between the digestive system, medication efficacy, and deep brain stimulation. Importantly, the accessibility of these portable devices eliminates some of the bias introduced by social determinants of health and empowers clinicians to treat one of the most debilitating aspects of Parkinson’s Disease.
