GKC Researchers Present International Analysis of Parkinson’s Symptoms
Global Kinetics Corporation (GKC), which develops technology to assist people with Parkinson’s disease, has presented a set of data collected from more than 10,000 reports of symptoms from patients with Parkinson’s.
The new database — collected in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia from January 2012 to January 2017 — can help researchers and physicians better understand how the disease progresses, and adjust patients’ medications accordingly.
“This exploratory study shows the power of continuous objective measurement in PD and how a rich dataset like this could be used to identify and target unmet needs and thereby enhance healthcare benchmarking in the disease,” the project’s author, Peter Lynch, said in a press release. “Up until now, we believe that a collection of truly objective Parkinson’s patient symptoms like this has not existed, and we believe it may offer a rich resource for researchers to understand the disease more deeply.”
GKC presented its analysis in the poster, “Objective Data in Parkinson’s disease: A description of over 10,000 Parkinson’s disease symptom scores across the world using the Personal KinetiGraph (PKG),” at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, held June 4-8 in Vancouver.
Study data showed significant variations in motor skills in different regions of the globe. This is most likely a consequence of differences in the availability of treatment options and variations in clinical practice from one country to the next.
Secondly, the study shows that in every region, patients had little control over their Parkinson’s symptoms. Uncontrolled symptomology is linked to higher healthcare costs and a lower quality of life. Major symptoms analyzed in this study include bradykinesia (slowness in movement), dyskinesia (presence of involuntary movement), motor-skills fluctuations, tremors and immobility.
“Even though literature suggests that more than 75 percent of PD patients develop motor fluctuations, no one knows how large the need for dose adjustments or advanced treatments really is,” said Filip Bergquist, co-author of the poster. “This descriptive study indicates that there is substantial room for improvement, and it should be followed by population based studies as well as evaluations of whether the availability of objective measurements will improve outcomes.”
The data used in this study was collected from the reports of Parkinson’s patients using GKC’s main mobile health technology, the Personal KinetiGraph (PKG). Patients continuously used the PKG-Watch on their wrist, which recorded movement data during daily activities.
The PKG provides continuous, objective, ambulatory assessment of Parkinson’s symptoms, allowing doctors to objectively assess those symptoms and help make decisions about when to change treatment.
The PKG-Watch can also be programmed to remind patients of their prescribed medication times; it also registers that they have taken their medications.
