Zakiyah Aldaajani

Background: Despite increasing numbers of women practising neurosciences, gender disparities persist in academic authorship. Focused evaluation of authorship patterns within movement disorders remains limited. Objective: To examine trends in women authorship across movement disorders publications in high‐impact neurology journals and movement disorders‐specific journals across a decade. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional bibliometric analysis of movement disorder‐related articles published in 2014 and 2024 in 20 neurology journals with the highest impact factor and two flagship movement disorders journals related to the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society. Women authorship proportions were calculated overall and by article type. First‐to‐senior authorship representation ratios were examined, and associations with journal impact factors were explored. Results: A total of 919 articles (9431 authors) were analyzed in 2024 and 755 articles (5801 authors) in 2014. Overall women authorship was 41.1% in 2024 compared with 38% in 2014 and senior (last) women authorship was 37% (2024) and 36% (2014). In 2024, women accounted for 43% of first and 31% of senior authors in Movement Disorders , compared with 41% and 27%, respectively, in 2014. A representation gap from first‐to‐senior authorship persisted across most journals. No clear association was observed between journal impact factor and women authorship. Conclusions: Over the past decade, women's representation in movement disorders publishing improved at first authorship levels but remained stagnant at low levels in senior authorship roles. Persistent lacuna between first and senior women authorship is an underexplored gap that may reflect a combination of structural barriers, cohort effects, and life‐course factors. © 2026 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Parkinson's disease (PD) care remains profoundly unequal across and within countries, despite major advances in understanding and treatment. Drawing on PD specialists’ personal stories of real-world experiences from diverse regions across Asia, Africa, and South America, this paper highlights the key barriers to equitable PD care and identifies pragmatic, scalable solutions. Across settings, several major barriers consistently emerge: a critical shortage and uneven distribution of trained specialists; geographic disparities limiting access to care; substantial financial barriers, particularly for comprehensive and advanced therapies; fragmented healthcare systems lacking integration and multidisciplinary support; and low public awareness and persistent stigma, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Strategies to address these challenges include workforce development through training, mentorship, and international collaboration; bringing expertise and services closer to patients via outreach programs and the use of “simple” technologies such as telemedicine and mobile communication platforms; ensuring universal access to essential medications, particularly levodopa; integrating multidisciplinary care models; public awareness campaigns and support groups empowering patients and caregivers and reducing stigma; and embedding research into routine care. The experiences presented here illustrate that meaningful progress is achievable through pragmatic solutions, collaborative networks, and sustained commitment to patient-centered care.

Living and care experiences with Parkinson's disease (PD) vary widely across cultures. Global heterogeneity in PD disease expression is increasingly recognized, shaped by differences in genetic backgrounds, environmental exposures, socioeconomic conditions, and access to healthcare resources. Cultural beliefs, levels of health literacy, and stigma play a critical role in shaping how individuals perceive their illness and influence when and how they seek medical care, their trust in healthcare providers, acceptance of diagnosis, and adherence to recommended treatments. Stigma—both internalized and externally imposed—can lead to social withdrawal, delayed help-seeking, and reduced quality of life. Caregiving experiences are likewise deeply influenced by sociocultural norms, including collectivist versus individualist value systems, gendered expectations, and familial structures, all of which affect the distribution of caregiving responsibilities and perceived caregiver burden. These cultural and structural dimensions contribute to marked disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and long-term support for PD across different populations. To address these inequities, clinical care models must be reoriented to incorporate cultural competence training for healthcare providers, locally tailored public education campaigns to combat stigma, and the development of culturally congruent support systems for patients and families. In parallel, future research must prioritize the inclusion of underrepresented populations and sociocultural contexts in epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and implementation science. Advancing culturally responsive, person-centered models of PD care is essential to dismantling structural barriers, reducing disparities, and promoting equitable outcomes for all people living with PD—regardless of geography, ethnicity, or cultural background.

Background: Exercise has been demonstrated to result in improvements in physical function, cognition, and quality of life in People with Parkinson's (PwP) but its adoption is variable.Objectives: To investigate exercise preferences, levels, influencing factors among a diverse Parkinson's disease (PD) population, to understand exercise adoption patterns and plan informed interventions.Methods: A cross‐sectional survey collected data through online platforms and paper‐based methods. The Exercise Index (ExI) calculated exercise level based on frequency and duration.Results: Of 2976 PwP, 40.6% exercised regularly, 38.3% occasionally, and 21.2% did not exercise. The overall mean ExI was 18.99 ± 12.37. Factors associated with high exercise levels included exercising in groups (ExI 24–26), weightlifting (ExI 27 (highest)), using muscle‐building equipment (ExI 25–26), and exercising at home following an app (ExI 26). A positive trend between ExI and varied exercise groups, locations, types, and equipment was observed. No expected benefit from exercise achieved the lowest ExI (8). Having at least two exercise‐promoting factors, a bachelor's degree or higher, receiving exercise advice at initial visits, and aged ≤40 years at PD onset were strong predictors of exercise (adjust OR = 7.814; 6.981; 4.170; 3.565). Falls and “other” most troublesome PD symptoms were negative predictors (aOR = 0.359; 0.466). Barriers to exercise did not predict the odds of exercise.Conclusions: The study shows that PwP's exercise behavior is influenced by their exercise belief, age at PD onset, doctor's advice at initial visits, education level, symptoms, and exercise‐promoting factors. High exercise levels were associated with certain types of exercises and exercising in groups.

Clinical case studies and reporting are important to the discovery of new disorders and the advancement of medical sciences. Both clinicians and basic scientists play equally important roles leading to treatment discoveries for both cures and symptoms. In the field of movement disorders, exceptional observation of patients from clinicians is imperative, not just for phenomenology but also for the variable occurrences of these disorders, along with other signs and symptoms, throughout the day and the disease course. The Movement Disorders in Asia Task Force (TF) was formed to help enhance and promote collaboration and research on movement disorders within the region. As a start, the TF has reviewed the original studies of the movement disorders that were preliminarily described in the region. These include nine disorders that were first described in Asia: Segawa disease, PARK-Parkin, X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism, dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy, Woodhouse-Sakati syndrome, benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy, Kufor-Rakeb disease, tremulous dystonia associated with mutation of the calmodulin-binding transcription activator 2 gene, and paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia. We hope that the information provided will honor the original researchers and help us learn and understand how earlier neurologists and basic scientists together discovered new disorders and made advances in the field, which impact us all to this day.

Nongenetic movement disorders are common throughout the world. The movement disorders encountered may vary depending on the prevalence of certain disorders across various geographical regions. In this paper, we review historical and more common nongenetic movement disorders in Asia. The underlying causes of these movement disorders are diverse and include, among others, nutritional deficiencies, toxic and metabolic causes, and cultural Latah syndrome, contributed by geographical, economic, and cultural differences across Asia. The industrial revolution in Japan and Korea has led to diseases related to environmental toxin poisoning, such as Minamata disease and β-fluoroethyl acetate-associated cerebellar degeneration, respectively, while religious dietary restriction in the Indian subcontinent has led to infantile tremor syndrome related to vitamin B12 deficiency. In this review, we identify the salient features and key contributing factors in the development of these disorders.

The increasing availability of molecular genetic testing has changed the landscape of both genetic research and clinical practice. Not only is the pace of discovery of novel disease‐causing genes accelerating but also the phenotypic spectra associated with previously known genes are expanding. These advancements lead to the awareness that some genetic movement disorders may cluster in certain ethnic populations and genetic pleiotropy may result in unique clinical presentations in specific ethnic groups. Thus, the characteristics, genetics and risk factors of movement disorders may differ between populations. Recognition of a particular clinical phenotype, combined with information about the ethnic origin of patients could lead to early and correct diagnosis and assist the development of future personalized medicine for patients with these disorders. Here, the Movement Disorders in Asia Task Force sought to review genetic movement disorders that are commonly seen in Asia, including Wilson's disease, spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) types 12, 31, and 36, Gerstmann‐Sträussler‐Scheinker disease, PLA2G6‐related parkinsonism, adult‐onset neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID), and paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia. We also review common disorders seen worldwide with specific mutations or presentations that occur frequently in Asians.