12th March 2015 - New research

EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Researchers assessed the association between the first presentation of prediagnostic features and a subsequent diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. Those symptoms considered were motor features (tremor, rigidity, balance impairments, neck pain or stiffness, and shoulder pain or stiffness), autonomic features (constipation, hypotension, erectile dysfunction, urinary dysfunction, and dizziness), neuropsychiatric disturbances (memory problems, late-onset anxiety or depression, cognitive decline, and apathy), and additional features (fatigue, insomnia, anosmia, hypersalivation and rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder). Apathy, REM sleep disorder, anosmia, hypersalivation, and cognitive decline were excluded because they were infrequently reported.

At 10 years before the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, the prevalence of tremor was an average of 7 times more likely, and constipation was twice as likely in those people who went on to develop Parkinson's disease than in those people who did not have Parkinson 's Disease. At 5 years before diagnosis, people who went on to develop Parkinson's Disease had a far higher prevalence of tremor (from 7 to 24 times more likely), and also had a higher likelihood (in order or likelihood) of : hypotension, constipation, balance impairments, dizziness, urinary dysfunction, depression, fatigue, anxiety and erectile dysfunction.

At 2 years before Parkinson's disease diagnosis, the prevalence of all studied prediagnostic features except neck pain or stiffness was higher in people who went on to develop Parkinson's Disease.

Reference : Lancet Neurology [2015] 14 (1) : 57-64 (A.Schrag, L.Horsfall, K.Walters, A. Noyce, I.Petersen) Complete abstract  For more news go to Parkinson's Disease News

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