A study of the correlation of non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson plus syndrome with duration of the disease

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is common in PD, occurring in up to one-half of the patients. Anxiety disorders may be as common as depression and the two are frequently co-existent. Parkinson plus syndrome (PPS) is a group of sporadic, neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system, less common and usually more severe than Parkinson’s disease. They are characterised by relatively rapid disease progression and the presence of features that are atypical for PD, such as early postural instability and dementia, severe autonomic failure, or pyramidal and cerebellar signs. Material and Methods: The study was conducted to assess the effect of duration in non-motor dysfunction in 60 patients with Parkinsonism including idiopathic Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson plus syndrome who attended either the outdoor services, or were admitted in the Neurology ward of our tertiary care centre, PGIMER & Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi, India. Results: PD patients had no correlation between cognition and duration of disease (p=0.079 with MMSE and p=0.145 with SCOPA COG) but had significant correlation between depression, sleep problems, pain and autonomic dysfunction with duration of disease (p=0.027, 0.008, 0.010 and 0.042 respectively). Conclusion: Early recognition and diagnosis of PD and PPS is important as treatment may improve quality of life in patients. Co-existence of non-motor dysfunctions in the disease significantly adds to the burden of disease and affects the quality of life.