Femoral Cartilage Thickness in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive, degenerative movement disorder characterized by motor and non-motor findings, and the incidence increases with age.There are different methods for the evaluation of articular cartilage in PD. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of cartilage thickness evaluated by US on disease stage, motor functions, balance and fall risks in individuals with Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive, degenerative movement disorder characterized by motor and non-motor findings, and the incidence increases with age. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's. Although the incidence of PD increases with age, early onset can also be seen in genetic variants. The prevalence of PD is 1% at the age of 65 and reaches 5% at the age of 85 years. Although the onset of the disease is usually between the ages of 65-70, the diagnosis is made under the age of 40 in 5% of patients. Although the progression process of PH varies between individuals, it has physical, psychological and socioeconomic effects on patients and families in the later stages of the disease. In the advanced stages of the disease, serious complications can be seen, including pneumonia, which can cause mortality.During the course of the disease, rigidity, resting tremor, postural instability, gait disturbance and bradykinesia characterized by progressive decrease in speed and amplitude of repetitive movements are the main cardinal motor findings. In addition to these findings, secondary motor symptoms such as bradymymia, dysarthria, and associated movements in the arm accompany the disease during its course.There are different methods for the evaluation of articular cartilage. Although arthroscopy is the most reliable of these methods, the fact that it is an invasive method limits its applicability. Magnetic Resonance imaging, on the other hand, is a reliable and non-invasive method, but it is expensive and some patients do not prefer this method due to claustrophobia, which limits its use. Although the most commonly used method today is conventional radiography, this method is insufficient to evaluate cartilage thickness. In recent years, ultrasonography (US) has found a very wide area of use for physicians dealing with musculoskeletal diseases.US is accepted as a cost-effective method that allows the patient to feel the least discomfort, provides simultaneous imaging, and allows repeated dynamic evaluations.In addition to being used in the diagnosis and follow-up of various diseases, it allows quantitative measurements of various structures. Likewise, in vivo and in vitro studies have reported that sagittal and axial measurements of femoral cartilage thickness using US measurement are reliable. The most important disease associated with cartilage loss in the literature is osteoarthritis.

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of cartilage thickness evaluated by US on disease stage, motor functions, balance and fall risks in individuals with Parkinson's Disease.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Having Parkinson's
* 50-75 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

* Limited cooperation
* The patient has moderate to severe dementia or mental retardation, which may cause limitations in examination, testing and treatment
* The patient's refusal to participate in the study
* Application of total joint prosthesis for the knee area
* Secondary osteoarthritis