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Pain is a common and disabling non-motor symptom (NMS) of Parkinson's disease (PD), which occurs through the course of the disease, often unrecognized and undertreated. For this study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of safinamide to reduce pain in PD patients with motor fluctuations. A total of 13 PD patients with pain receiving safinamide (Xadago®, 100 mg/daily) were prospectively evaluated for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measures were changes in the total score of the King's Pain Scale for Parkinson's Disease (KPPS), Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Intensity and Interference, and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Secondary outcomes were the proportion of pain responders, changes in the Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI), the Parkinson's disease Quality of Life 39 (PDQ39), the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale parts III and IV (UPDRS III and IV), and laser-evoked potentials (LEPs). LEPs were used to assess potential changes in the central processing of nociceptive inputs. The safety profile was evaluated based on the occurrence of treatment-emergent side effects and the dropout rate. After 12 weeks of add-on safinamide therapy, a significant improvement was noted in the primary (KPPS, BPI Intensity and interference, and NRS) and the secondary outcomes (UPDRS III, IV, CGI, and PDQ39). No significant changes in LEP complexes were observed. All patients completed the study and no treatment-emergent side effects were reported. Our preliminary findings suggest that safinamide 100 mg/day may be effective for the management of pain in PD patients with motor fluctuations and is safe. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm its efficacy.

The pathophysiology of postural abnormalities in patients with Parkinson's disease is poorly understood. In the present study, 13 patients with Pisa syndrome (PS) underwent EMG study of paraspinal lumbar (L2-L4) and thoracic (T8-T10) muscles, and of non-paraspinal muscles. Patients also underwent a whole spine X-ray and an MRI assessment of paraspinal muscles (L1-S1). The EMG evaluation disclosed two main patterns: patients with pattern I (n = 6, hyperactivity of lumbar paraspinals ipsilateral to the trunk leaning side) or pattern II (n = 7: hyperactivity of lumbar paraspinals contralateral to the trunk leaning side. In pattern I, half the patients also had ipsilateral hyperactivity of the thoracic paraspinals, the other half had contralateral thoracic hyperactivity; in pattern II, thoracic paraspinal hyperactivity was contralateral in all patients (like the lumbar paraspinal hyperactivity). Non-paraspinal muscles were hyperactive ipsilaterally in four of six patients with pattern I and in all patients with pattern II. The MRI showed mild muscular atrophy with fatty degeneration in patients with pattern I, whereas in pattern II patients this was greater and prevalent on paraspinal lumbar muscles ipsilateral to the leaning side. The present data support the hypothesis that two main patterns of muscular activation are associated with PS. In both patterns, hyperactivity of contralateral paraspinal muscles is probably compensatory for the trunk leaning.

The Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) has been available in English since 2008. As part of this process, the MDS-UPDRS organizing team developed guidelines for development of official non-English translations. We present here the formal process for completing officially approved non-English versions of the MDS-UPDRS and specifically focus on the first of these versions in Italian. The MDS-UPDRS was translated into Italian and tested in 377 native-Italian speaking PD patients. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses determined whether the factor structure for the English-language MDS-UPDRS could be confirmed in data collected using the Italian translation. To be designated an 'Official MDS translation,' the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) had to be ≥0.90 relative to the English-language version. For all four parts of the Italian MDS-UPDRS, the CFI, in comparison with the English-language data, was ≥0.94. Exploratory factor analyses revealed some differences between the two datasets, however these differences were considered to be within an acceptable range. The Italian version of the MDS-UPDRS reaches the criterion to be designated as an Official Translation and is now available for use. This protocol will serve as outline for further validation of this in multiple languages.

Pisa Syndrome is clinically defined as the sustained lateral bending of the trunk worsened by a prolonged sitting position or by walking. Pisa syndrome, also termed lateral trunk flexion (LTF), has been rarely reported in patients affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) and, therefore, the pathophysiology has been poorly investigated. In some cases, the hyperactivity of paravertebral muscles contralateral to the leaning side has been interpreted as a sign of dystonia; however, it is well known that paravertebral muscles flex the trunk ipsilaterally. We systematically explored the pattern of muscular activation underlying the lateral flexion of trunk in 10 PD patients (mean disease duration: 9.2 ± 3.0 years) presenting LTF for 3.6 ± 2.1 years. EMG performed during stance and during left and right lateral trunk flexion showed a continuous ipsilateral muscular hyperactivity in three patients, while in the remaining ones there was no ipsilateral activity during standing and a tonic contraction of paravertebral muscles contralateral to the leaning side. In conclusion, this EMG study investigating the synergies of paravertebral muscles during dynamic conditions detected two different patterns with a typical dystonic activation in only a minority of cases. Possible pathophysiologic mechanisms and treatment approaches are discussed.