Gait asymmetry (GA) in people with Parkinson’s disease (pwPD) has been inconsistently reported, leading to uncertainty about its prevalence and clinical significance. GA may relate to motor symptoms’ lateralization and the effects of dopaminergic medication. The aim of this study was to systematically summarize the current literature and perform a meta-analysis to investigate the differences between GA in pwPD compared to healthy individuals and to evaluate the effect of dopaminergic medication on GA. The review was registered in PROSPERO database (ID: CRD42021285067). The searching was conducted in the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Lilacs, PEDro and Scopus databases. The primary search resulted in 551 studies. After removing the duplicates, 451 studies remained for the analysis. After checking the full text, 42 studies with 2111 pwPD were included in this review. The meta-analysis showed that pwPD exhibited greater asymmetry in step length, step time, and swing time, particularly in the OFF state, with moderate effect sizes. Dopaminergic medication was associated with reduced swing time asymmetry. Temporal aspects of GA, particularly swing time asymmetry, was most sensitive to detect differences in GA between pwPD and healthy controls and to indicate an effect of dopaminergic medication. The inconsistent findings across studies highlight the need for standardization in GA measurement. Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying GA may improve targeted therapies. Further research should explore GA in more challenging walking conditions and in free-living environments to enhance the clinical understanding of gait disturbances in PD.

Background: Recent technological advances have enabled the development of portable data acquisition systems that facilitate the collection of brain signals during sports tasks. The main objective of the present systematic review was to collate evidence regarding studies that have analysed brain-derived indices related to ball kicking action. Methods: The PRISMA guidelines were followed in the protocol for this review. Six electronic databases were searched (IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, APA PsycNet, EBSCOHost, and PubMed). The search string followed a PICOS/PECOS framework: participants as human able-bodied subjects regardless of age, evaluated while performing a ball kick task, and reported results of brain-derived metrics. The RoBANS tool was used to evaluate the risk-of-bias of the included studies. Results: The database searches resulted in a total of 1748 records, of which 8 original research articles met all the inclusion criteria. Most studies used EEG systems while few employed fNIRS. Qualitative synthesis indicated that skilled ball kicking performance was generally accompanied by phase-specific cortical dynamics (e.g., within frontal, sensorimotor/central, and parieto-occipital regions) whereas anxiety and injury appear to shift cortical engagement toward potentially compensatory, less efficient control strategies. Data on measurement error was limited while blinding aspects were frequently omitted across studies. Finally, one problem identified in this review was that only one-fourth studies used an opponent attempting to block the shots. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggest that kicking outcomes tended to be linked with specific brain patterns. Future studies need to improve the design of experimental tasks so that they more closely resemble what occurs in a real game. Trial registration: The review protocol was registered in OSF Preregistration under ID #NZASB.

Salivary biomarkers have been explored as potential non-invasive tools for the diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). This study presents a scoping review and evidence mapping on the use of saliva as a matrix in which biomarkers can be identified for these conditions. A systematic search of multiple databases and studies was conducted until 28 January 2025, resulting in the selection of 12 relevant articles. The quantified evidence synthesis identified eight molecular and microbial categories. Of these, four classes, including cytokines, microRNAs, calprotectin, and the microbiome, have demonstrated the most consistent potential. Alterations in these biomarkers, such as an increase in the Prevotella genus within the microbiome, and elevated PSMA7 levels, may reflect disruptions in intestinal barrier integrity and immune response. However, factors such as oral health status, hygiene habits, and medication must be carefully considered. Therefore, further clinical research is essential to validate specific biomarkers.

Aerobic exercise with the correct intensity can attenuate motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) and improve the quality of life. However, a specific, validated, non-invasive, and outside the laboratory protocol that assesses physiological variables to prescribe optimal aerobic exercise intensity for people with PD is nonexistent. Therefore, this study aimed to propose a protocol, the Parkinson's critical heart rate test (Parkinson-CHR test), to determine the critical heart rate (CHR) in individuals with PD and verify its validity, reliability, and sensitivity. Fifteen people with idiopathic PD, who were able to practice exercises, were recruited to participate in the study (71.1 ± 6.6 years). The study consisted of two experiments: i) the first one aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the protocol, with participants performing the test twice at a one-week interval; ii) the second experiment aimed to investigate the protocol sensitivity, with individuals being evaluated before and after an 8-week training program according to Parkinson-CHR intensity. In experiment 1, no differences between test and retest were observed in the time to cover the distances (400, 800 and 1200 m), the total heart rate, the critical heart rate, and critical speed (p > 0.05). In experiment 2, there was a reduction in time to cover 400 and 800 m as well as in the total heart rate for all distances after the 8-week training program. The Parkinson-CHR test is a reliable, reproducible, inexpensive, and non-invasive protocol to assess, prescribe, and monitor aerobic exercise intensity in people with PD.