Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction is associated with executive dysfunction and poorer quality of life in progressive supranuclear palsy-Richardson’s syndrome

Abstract

BackgroundAutonomic dysfunction in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is not uncommon but is easily neglected. ObjectiveWe evaluated blood pressure (BP) profiles in PSP patients and aimed to determine the associations between BP variability and cognition and quality of life. MethodsConsecutive patients diagnosed with PSP were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. All patients underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, office blood pressure measurements, and comprehensive clinical assessments. ResultsWe enrolled 31 PSP patients. Ten (32.3%) patients presented with reverse dipping, 10 (32.3%) presented with reduced dipping, and 11 (35.5%) presented with normal dipping. Additionally, 19 (61.3%) patients had supine hypertension, and no patients had orthostatic hypotension. In the entire PSP cohort, the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III (MDS-UPDRS III) score, Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson’s Disease-Autonomic (SCOPA-AUT) score, and daytime systolic BP (SBP) standard deviation explained 61.5% (adjusted R2) of the variance in Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) scores. In the PSP with Richardson’s syndrome group, the daytime SBP coefficient of variation and Mini‐Mental State Examination score accounted for 33.9% of the variance in Frontal Assessment Battery scores. The MDS-UPDRS III score, 24-hour SBP coefficient of variation, and SCOPA-AUT score explained 77.6% of the variance in PDQ-39 scores. ConclusionsGreater BP variability was associated with executive dysfunction and poorer quality of life in patients with PSP. A high prevalence of abnormal dipping patterns indicated circadian disruption in patients with PSP.