What's new? Clinical progression and staging of Parkinson's disease

Several new advances facilitate current understanding of the progression of Parkinson's disease. The application of statistical modeling techniques has helped to estimate rates of clinical decline in the context of symptomatic interventions. These approaches may allow a new means for testing neuroprotection effects even when patients are on dopaminergic treatment. Further, the development of new rating scales, specifically the Movement Disorder Society-initiated revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale has capitalized on a greater clinical appreciation of non-motor elements of Parkinson's disease. Finally, adaptations of new technologies that are computer-based and enable data transmission from at-home environments allow researchers to capture disease impairment and disability with potentially greater precision and much more frequently than permissible in a hospital clinic or practice setting.