While Parkinson’s is the fastest growing brain disease in the world, most of the drugs used to treat it were developed in the last century. The complexity of the disease and the limitation of current measures have been barriers to new therapies.
The onset and severity of symptoms—such as stiff arms and legs, difficulty moving and walking, and tremors—and the progression of the disease can vary significantly from patient to patient. In addition, the tools traditionally used for monitoring the disease are subjective and episodic, for example, they are only collected during clinic visits, which limits the understanding of how the disease affects people’s daily lives.
The WATCH-PD study convened investigators at multiple sites throughout the US who recruited 82 individuals with untreated early Parkinson’s and 50 age-matched controls and followed them for 12 months. The volunteers wore research-grade sensors, an Apple Watch and an iPhone while taking standardized assessments in the clinic. At home, the participants wore the smartwatch for seven days after each visit and completed motor, speech and cognitive tasks on the smartphone every two weeks.
The smartphone app recorded finger speed, performance on cognitive tasks, and speech, while the smartwatch could measure arm movement, tremor duration, and gait characteristics.
The scientists were able to detect motor and non-motor characteristics that differed between individuals with early Parkinson’s and age-matched controls. They carried out a longitudinal analysis and also a study that will follow the participants over a longer period to determine which digital measures are sensitive enough to help researchers assess whether an experimental therapy is having a significant impact on disease progression.
These findings reinforce what other studies have shown: digital devices can differentiate between people with and without early Parkinson’s and are more sensitive than traditional rating scales for some measures of Parkinson’s disease.
While Parkinson’s is the fastest growing brain disease in the world, most of the drugs used to treat it were developed in the last century. The complexity of the disease and the limitation of current measures have been barriers to new therapies.
The onset and severity of symptoms—such as stiff arms and legs, difficulty moving and walking, and tremors—and the progression of the disease can vary significantly from patient to patient. In addition, the tools traditionally used for monitoring the disease are subjective and episodic, for example, they are only collected during clinic visits, which limits the understanding of how the disease affects people’s daily lives.
The WATCH-PD study convened investigators at multiple sites throughout the US who recruited 82 individuals with untreated early Parkinson’s and 50 age-matched controls and followed them for 12 months. The volunteers wore research-grade sensors, an Apple Watch and an iPhone while taking standardized assessments in the clinic. At home, the participants wore the smartwatch for seven days after each visit and completed motor, speech and cognitive tasks on the smartphone every two weeks.
The smartphone app recorded finger speed, performance on cognitive tasks, and speech, while the smartwatch could measure arm movement, tremor duration, and gait characteristics.
The scientists were able to detect motor and non-motor characteristics that differed between individuals with early Parkinson’s and age-matched controls. They carried out a longitudinal analysis and also a study that will follow the participants over a longer period to determine which digital measures are sensitive enough to help researchers assess whether an experimental therapy is having a significant impact on disease progression.
These findings reinforce what other studies have shown: digital devices can differentiate between people with and without early Parkinson’s and are more sensitive than traditional rating scales for some measures of Parkinson’s disease.
While Parkinson’s is the fastest growing brain disease in the world, most of the drugs used to treat it were developed in the last century. The complexity of the disease and the limitation of current measures have been barriers to new therapies.
The onset and severity of symptoms—such as stiff arms and legs, difficulty moving and walking, and tremors—and the progression of the disease can vary significantly from patient to patient. In addition, the tools traditionally used for monitoring the disease are subjective and episodic, for example, they are only collected during clinic visits, which limits the understanding of how the disease affects people’s daily lives.
The WATCH-PD study convened investigators at multiple sites throughout the US who recruited 82 individuals with untreated early Parkinson’s and 50 age-matched controls and followed them for 12 months. The volunteers wore research-grade sensors, an Apple Watch, and an iPhone while taking standardized assessments in the clinic. At home, the participants wore the smartwatch for seven days after each visit and completed motor, speech, and cognitive tasks on the smartphone every two weeks.
The smartphone app recorded finger speed, performance on cognitive tasks, and speech, while the smartwatch could measure arm movement, tremor duration, and gait characteristics.
The scientists were able to detect motor and non-motor characteristics that differed between individuals with early Parkinson’s and age-matched controls. They carried out a longitudinal analysis and also a study that will follow the participants over a longer period to determine which digital measures are sensitive enough to help researchers assess whether an experimental therapy is having a significant impact on disease progression.
These findings reinforce what other studies have shown: digital devices can differentiate between people with and without early Parkinson’s and are more sensitive than traditional rating scales for some measures of Parkinson’s disease.
