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ADL (Activities of Daily Living): The things we normally do in daily living including any daily activity we perform for self-care (such as feeding ourselves, bathing, dressing, grooming), work, homemaking, and leisure. The ability or inability to perform ADLs can be used as a very practical measure of ability/disability in many disorders.
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI): a series of questions developed to measure the intensity, severity, and depth of depression in patients with psychiatric diagnoses. Its long form is composed of 21 questions, each designed to assess a specific symptom common among people with depression. A shorter form is composed of seven questions and is designed for administration by primary care providers. Aaron T. Beck, a pioneer in cognitive therapy, first designed the BDI.
DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation): Deep brain stimulation (DBS) delivers a constant low electrical stimulation to a small region of the brain, through implanted electrodes connected to an implanted battery. It is used to partially restore normal movements in Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia.
Diabetic Neuropathy or Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN): Diabetic neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes, in which nerves are damaged as a result of high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). DPN often found in the hands, legs or feet of those affected.
Efficacy: Power or capacity to produce a desired effect; effectiveness.
Electromagnetics: the physics of the electromagnetic field, a field which exerts a force on particles with the property of electric charge and which is reciprocally affected by the presence and motion of such particles.
Epworth Sleepiness Scale: It is an eight-question assessment of daytime sleepiness in which the respondent rates how likely one is to fall asleep in a variety of situations.
Fatigue Severity Scale: this scale measures the impact of fatigue on the respondent's daily life. The scale consists of 9 statements, to which patients are asked to respond using a 7-point scale.
FDA (Food and Drug Administration): an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, dietary supplements, drugs, vaccines, biological medical products, blood products, medical devices, radiation-emitting devices, veterinary products, and cosmetics.
Helmholtz coils: refers to a device for producing a region of nearly uniform magnetic field.
Idiopathic: Of unknown cause.
IRB (Investigational Review Board): a committee that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans with the aim to protect the rights and welfare of the research subjects. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (specifically Office for Human Research Protections) regulations have empowered IRBs to approve, require modifications in planned research prior to approval, or disapprove research. An IRB performs critical oversight functions for research conducted on human subjects that are scientific, ethical, and regulatory.
Mellitus: When "diabetes" is used alone, it refers to diabetes mellitus. The two main types of diabetes mellitus -- insulin-requiring type 1 diabetes and adult-onset type 2 diabetes -- are distinct and different diseases in themselves.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): A non invasive body imaging procedure that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to construct pictures of the internal structures of the body.
Neuromodulation: electrical stimulation of a peripheral nerve, the spinal cord, or the brain for relief of symptoms of a disorder or disease.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: a physical resonance phenomenon involving the observation of specific quantum mechanical magnetic properties of an atomic nucleus in the presence of an applied, external magnetic field. Many scientific techniques exploit NMR phenomena to study molecular physics, crystals and non-crystalline materials through NMR spectroscopy. NMR is also routinely used in advanced medical imaging techniques, such as in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
PDQ-39 (Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire): the most widely used measure of health status in Parkinson's Disease and generally considered the industry ‘gold standard’. Designed, built and tested as a self-completion instrument, The PDQ-39 addresses aspects of functioning and well-being in those affected by Parkinson’s Disease. The 39-point PDQ provides scores on 8 scales: mobility, activities of daily living, emotions, stigma, social support, cognitions, communications and bodily discomfort.
TMS/rTMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation): a noninvasive method to excite neurons in the brain: weak electric currents are induced in the tissue by rapidly changing magnetic fields (electromagnetic induction). This way, brain activity can be triggered with minimal discomfort, and the functionality of the circuitry and connectivity of the brain can be studied.The strength of typical TMS/rTMS fields are billions to trillions times more powerful than those utilized by the Resonator™ device.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a disorder that is characterized by high blood glucose in the context of insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. Typically referred to as “Adult Onset” diabetes.
UPDRS (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale): is a rating scale used to follow the longitudinal course of Parkinson's disease. It is made up of the following sections:
• Mentation, behavior, and mood;
• Activities of daily living;
• Motor;
• Complications of therapy;
These are evaluated by interview and clinical observation. Some sections require multiple grades assigned to each extremity. Clinicians and researchers alike use the UPDRS and the motor section in particular to follow the progression of a person's Parkinson's disease.
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