Abstract
Background Pain is frequent in Parkinson's disease (PD) and Parkinson-plus syndrome. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, characteristics, therapy (especially the effect of dopaminergic therapy), and associated symptoms of pain in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients. Methods Seventy-one PD patients, sixty-five MSA patients, and forty age-matched healthy controls were enrolled and evaluated by using the German pain questionnaire and visual analogue scale (VAS). In addition, the influence of pain in PD patients on anxiety, depression, and the quality of life was assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). Results Compared to that of the healthy controls, the PD and MSA patients had a significantly higher presence of pain (P < 0.01, P < 0.01). PD patients had a higher presence of pain than MSA patients (P=0.007). No difference in VAS scores was observed between the PD and MSA patients (P=0.148). A total of 21 PD patients (42.85%) with pain and 13 MSA patients (43.33%) with pain received treatment. A total of 13 PD patients with pain and 6 MSA patients with pain had an improved pain intensity after using dopaminergic medication. The differences in the disease duration, Hoehn and Yahr stages, and scores on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor score, HAD-D, HAD-A, and PDQ-39 were significant between the PD patients with and without pain. Conclusion PD and MSA patients are prone to pain with insufficient treatment. Pain interventions should be provided as soon as possible to improve the patient's life.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with a prevalence of approximately 1.7% in the population over 65 years of age in China
A previous study showed that both PD and multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients were more likely to complain about pain than other Parkinson-plus disease patients
A total of 71 PD patients, 65 MSA patients, and 40 age-matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled from the Anhui Provincial Hospital between January 2016 and September 2018. e PD diagnosis was based on the United Kingdom Brain Bank criteria [6]. e MSA diagnosis was based on the second consensus statement by the American Academy of Neurology [7]
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with a prevalence of approximately 1.7% in the population over 65 years of age in China. Studies have found that pain is frequent in Parkinson-plus syndrome, especially in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) [3]. A previous study showed that both PD and MSA patients were more likely to complain about pain than other Parkinson-plus disease patients. The differences in clinical characteristics and treatment of pain between PD and MSA patients have not been studied. Pain is frequent in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Parkinson-plus syndrome. Is study aimed to assess the prevalence, characteristics, therapy (especially the effect of dopaminergic therapy), and associated symptoms of pain in Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients. The influence of pain in PD patients on anxiety, depression, and the quality of life was assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). Pain interventions should be provided as soon as possible to improve the patient’s life
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