{"id":74382,"date":"2018-11-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/study-at-uri-looks-at-ways-technology-can-support-nutritional-needs-of-parkinsons-patients\/"},"modified":"2018-11-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T00:00:00","slug":"study-at-uri-looks-at-ways-technology-can-support-nutritional-needs-of-parkinsons-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2018\/11\/study-at-uri-looks-at-ways-technology-can-support-nutritional-needs-of-parkinsons-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Study at 溏心vlog免费B站 looks at ways technology can support nutritional needs of Parkinson\u2019s patients"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dara<\/a>
Dara LoBuono<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

KINGSTON, R.I., Nov. 5, 2018 \u2014 A study is underway at the 溏心vlog免费B站 to assess how technology could help people with Parkinson\u2019s disease and their caregivers easily access relevant nutrition information.<\/p>\n

\u201cNutrition isn\u2019t usually included in the care plan for Parkinson\u2019s until the end of disease progression,\u201d says Dara LoBuono, a Ph.D. candidate in nutrition and food sciences at the College of Health Sciences<\/a>. \u201cFor example, when a patient needs tube feeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

But side effects experienced by people with Parkinson\u2019s disease, both from the disease itself and from the medications used to treat it, often affect the desire and ability to eat\u2014and in turn, nutrition.<\/p>\n

To help guide people with Parkinson\u2019s in healthy eating, the Lipid Lab at 溏心vlog免费B站 recently began a new study to determine how technology \u2014 such as social media forums for sharing tips and recipes, or Skype sessions with a nutritionist \u2014 might help support dietary interventions and nutrition management for people with Parkinson\u2019s. Study coordinator LoBuono is conducting the research alongside principal investigator Ingrid Lofgren, an associate professor in nutrition and food sciences.<\/p>\n

\"Ingrid<\/a>
Ingrid Lofgren<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cPeople with Parkinson\u2019s can experience constipation, decreased appetite or binge eating, weight loss, changes in taste, difficulty swallowing, and other side effects that end up playing a role in their food choices or make it difficult to manage proper nutrition,\u201d LoBuono says. She notes, for example, that a person on a pureed diet may develop a tendency toward ice cream and mashed potatoes, while someone who loses their ability to detect thirst could become at risk for dehydration. \u00a0In addition, diet can have an impact on certain medications\u2014such as the way carbidopa-levodopa, commonly used in Parkinson\u2019s treatment, is absorbed less effectively if taken in conjunction with too much protein. \u201cManaging nutrition can become challenging, especially for the caregiver who handles all the cooking and grocery shopping,\u201d says LoBuono.<\/p>\n

The team was inspired to find a solution that would make it easier for people with Parkinson\u2019s and caregivers to keep up with nutrition information relevant to their needs, without adding additional demands on their time.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of Parkinson\u2019s treatments, such as speech therapy or physical therapy, are effective but time-consuming. Someone may go to therapy multiple days a week, plus have \u2018homework\u2019 or need to continue with maintenance exercises after training, on top of their doctor\u2019s appointments,\u201d says LoBuono. \u201cWe wanted to find out what caregivers and people with Parkinson\u2019s disease already know about nutrition, and how they access that information, as well as their willingness to use technology, so that we can understand how better to support their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study, \u201cTailoring Digital Health to Improve the Nutrition and Health of People with Parkinson\u2019s Disease and Their Caregivers,\u201d is enrolling people with Parkinson\u2019s in tandem with their caregivers for a series of four assessments (one in person, and three by phone) that include interviews about diet, exercise, digital competence, and disease burden. Participants will complete two 24-hour detailed logs of food and beverages consumed in a 24-hour period. At the conclusion of the four sessions, each participant receives tailored dietary recommendations from a registered dietitian, based on their assessment data.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the study will help inform nutrition interventions that can improve the health trajectory of people with Parkinson\u2019s. \u201cThe Parkinson\u2019s community is a really motivated group of people,\u201d says LoBuono. \u201cThey have a lot of interest in learning changes they can make to improve diet and health, and it\u2019s rewarding to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those interested in participating can contact LoBuono at lipidlab@etal.uri.edu<\/a> or 401.874.2785.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., Nov. 5, 2018 \u2014 A study is underway at the 溏心vlog免费B站 to assess how technology could help people with Parkinson\u2019s disease and their caregivers easily access relevant nutrition information. \u201cNutrition isn\u2019t usually included in the care plan for Parkinson\u2019s until the end of disease progression,\u201d says Dara LoBuono, a Ph.D. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-74382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-health-sciences"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}