Objective: To characterize the abnormalities in pulmonary function tests (PFT) in early-diagnosed PD patients and to assess their prognostic features 2 years after.

Background: Pulmonary dysfunction is related among the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and can have an impact on dysarthria and swallowing disorders. However, most of the authors included advanced PD patients without any prospective follow-up.

Methods: Forty-one PD patients (mean age = 61.7 ± 7.7) with a mean disease duration of 1.9 years (± 1.7) were included and compared to a matched control group composed of 36 healthy subjects (mean age=61 ± 5.2) Neurological and PFT evaluations were performed at inclusion (V0) and repeated 2 years later (V2) for the PD patients.

Results: At V0, we displayed more inspiratory muscles weakness in the PD patients group (53.7 vs. 25%, p=0.0105). PD patients had a lower forced inspiratory buccal flow (FIF) (75.2% of theoretical value ± 34.2 vs. 90.6 % ± 26.1 – p=0.03) and a lower sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) (71.8% ± 30.9 vs. 89.7% ± 18.6 – p=0.004). Bradykinesia was linked with a decrease of FIF (p=0.0001, r= -0.6) and SNIP (p=0.007, r= -0.42 – figure 1). The intensity of resting tremor was correlated with an increase of SNIP (p=0.02, r=0.38) and was not linked with the FIF (p=0.51). At V2, FIF and SNIP tended to increase (p=0.054 and p=0.055 respectively) with a positive correlation with the modification of Levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD) (p=0.02, r =0.37 and p=0.0005, r=0.53 respectively). We observed no worse outcome for the PD patients with an inspiratory muscles weakness.

Conclusions: In early PD, inspiratory muscles strength seems to be affected. The progression of this muscles weakness remains unknown but LEED could have a slight positive effect. Chronic induced-hypoxemia could play a role in PD pathophysiology.

« Back to 2016 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/pulmonary-dysfunction-in-parkinsons-disease-a-feature-of-early-disease/