Objective: To evaluate pharmacological treatment patterns in patients with Parkinson´s disease (PD), prevalence of motor complications, and factors associated with them.

Background: Levodopa is the most effective therapy in PD, however, side-effects, such as dyskinesias and motor fluctuations may occur after some years of usage, that may be a substantial source of disability and decreased quality of life in PD patients.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study in 2010-2015, treatment and case history details of 336 PD patients were reported, additionally to demographic data and questionnaires of the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson´s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Parkinson´s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), the Hoehn and Yahr scale (HY), the Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living scale (SE-ADL), and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Results: Out of 336 patients with PD, altogether 81.6% of patients were on levodopa therapy, with a mean dose of 425±225 mg and a mean duration of 4.9±5.2 years; 43.5% were on levodopa monotherapy, and 36.9% on combined with other antiParkinsonian medication: most commonly with dopamine agonist. Among patients who had been on levodopa therapy for at least 1 year, 22.1% experienced dyskinesias and 21.5% motor fluctuations. Frequency of complications increased with time, occurring as dyskinesias in 46.9% and as motor fluctuations in 40.8% of patients who were treated with levodopa for 10 years or more. Patients with motor complications were significantly younger at the time of examination, had younger onset age, had longer duration and greater severity of PD, and higher daily dose of levodopa. Quality of life was significantly lower in patients with motor fluctuations but there was no difference in patients with or without dyskinesias.

Conclusions: Occurrence of motor complications in our patients with PD was associated with duration and dose of levodopa, age, and severity of PD but the frequency was relatively low earlier in the course but comparable to other clinical studies in long term levodopa treatment. Quality of life was related to fluctuations but not dyskinesias that shows a different impact of treatment complications.

« Back to 2016 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/antiparkinsonian-treatment-patterns-and-motor-complications-among-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-in-estonia/