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Goal and Aims: To pilot the feasibility and evaluate the performance of an EEG wearable for measuring sleep in individuals with Parkinson's disease., Focus Technology: Dreem Headband, Version 2., Reference Technology: Polysomnography., Sample: Ten individuals with Parkinson's disease., Design: Individuals wore Dreem Headband during a single night of polysomnography., Core Analytics: Comparison of summary metrics, bias, and epoch-by-epoch analysis., Additional Analytics and Exploratory Analyses: Correlation of summary metrics with demographic and Parkinson's disease characteristics., Core Outcomes: Summary statistics showed Dreem Headband overestimated several sleep metrics, including total sleep, efficiency, deep sleep, and rapid eye movement sleep, with an exception in light sleep. Epoch-by-epoch analysis showed greater specificity than sensitivity, with adequate accuracy across sleep stages (0.55-0.82)., Important Supplemental Outcomes: Greater Parkinson's disease duration and rapid eye movement behavior were associated with more wakefulness, and worse Parkinson's disease motor symptoms were associated with less deep sleep., Core Conclusion: The Dreem Headband performs similarly in Parkinson's disease as it did in non-Parkinson's disease samples and shows promise for improving access to sleep assessment in people with Parkinson's disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicts of interest Dr. Gonzales reports grants from the Alzheimer’s Association Part the Cloud Gates, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium, Institutional Pilot Awards, and the National Institutes of Health, as well as personal stock in Abbie. Ms. Pollet and her spouse are employed by and receive income from Academy Diagnostics Sleep and EEG Center. Dr. Seshadri has consulted for Eisai and Biogen outside of the current work. Ms. Wang, Mr. Verlarde, Dr. Horn, Dr. Coss, Dr. Vaou, Dr. Wang, Dr. Li, Dr. Miao, and Dr. Gonzalez report no conflicts., (Copyright © 2023 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Caregivers are integral to Parkinson disease (PD) care, but little information exists regarding how caregivers impact patient outcomes., Objective: To assess the association between caregivers reporting depression symptoms and patient quality of life (QOL), emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations., Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at 15 Parkinson's Foundation Centers of Excellence within the US. The Parkinson's Foundation Parkinson Outcomes Project registry was used to collect baseline data from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018, with subsequent annual study visits through July 31, 2020. Data were analyzed from August 5, 2020, to June 9, 2023. A convenience sample of 454 patients with PD and their caregivers was recruited during routine clinical visits with movement disorder specialists. Patients with a physician diagnosis of idiopathic PD who lived at home and had 1 or more follow-up study visits were included., Exposure: Caregiver depression symptoms using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale., Main Outcomes and Measures: Patient health-related QOL (measured by the 39-item Parkinson Disease Questionnaire), number of annual ED visits, and number of annual hospitalizations were measured. The independent association between caregivers reporting depression symptoms and patient outcomes was assessed using linear mixed-effects and Poisson regression models. The a priori hypotheses were that a greater number of depression symptoms reported via the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale would be associated with worse patient QOL and a greater number of ED visits and hospitalizations., Results: Among 454 patient-caregiver dyads (patients: mean [SD] age, 67.3 [8.4] years; 320 men [70.5%]; caregivers: mean [SD] age, 65.9 [8.7] years; 326 women [71.8%]), the mean (SD) follow-up was 2.0 (1.4) study visits. Greater depression symptoms among caregivers were associated with worse patient QOL as measured by the Parkinson Disease Questionnaire (mean [SD] score, 33.78 [17.71], on a scale of 0-100, with higher scores indicating worse QOL, among patients with caregivers who had depression symptoms vs 24.50 [14.19] among patients with caregivers who did not have depression symptoms; β = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.28-0.58; P < .001) and more annual ED visits (β = 0.02; 95% CI, 0 to 0.04; P = .03) but not more hospitalizations (β = 0.02; 95% CI, -0.01 to 0.03; P = .10)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, patients with PD who had caregivers at higher risk of depression were more likely to have worse QOL and higher ED use than patients who had caregivers not at higher risk of depression. Additional caregiving resources and interventions to reduce caregiver depression symptoms could potentially improve patient outcomes.

Introduction: Psychosis is common among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Limited data exist on the most effective therapies., Methods: Retrospective cohort study comparing patients with PD or DLB initiated on quetiapine or pimavanserin for psychosis. Primary outcome was time to discontinuation of pimavanserin or quetiapine using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. We hypothesized the rate of antipsychotic discontinuation would be lower in the pimavanserin group. Subjects were included if the indication for treatment was psychosis and excluded if there was a history of major mental illness or no follow up data were available., Results: Forty-seven patients were included in the quetiapine cohort and 45 in the pimavanserin cohort. Patients in the pimavanserin cohort were more likely to have a diagnosis of DLB (33% vs. 11%, P = 0.01) and to have been prescribed an antipsychotic previously (62% vs. 6%, P < 0.01); otherwise, the groups were similar. Time to discontinuation analysis, which accounts for efficacy, safety and tolerability, revealed a lower early pimavanserin discontinuation rate and a higher late pimavanserin discontinuation rate (HR < 1 before day 43, HR > 1 after day 43; P = 0.04). There was no difference in mortality in the pimavanserin group compared to the quetiapine group (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.06 to 2.45; P = 0.88). More individuals had a documented secondary indication for taking quetiapine than pimavanserin (38% vs. 4%; P = 0.001)., Conclusion: Accounting for efficacy, safety and tolerability, pimavanserin may be more clinically useful for promptly managing psychosis, while quetiapine may confer additional secondary benefits long-term., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Poor nocturnal sleep is common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and negatively impacts quality of life. There is little data on how dopaminergic drugs influence nocturnal sleep in PD, particularly in relation to medication timing. We examined the association between dopaminergic medications and subjective and objective nocturnal sleep in PD., Methods: Individuals with PD were recruited from the outpatient clinic. Demographics and disease information were collected. Patients underwent one-night polysomnography and responded to SCOPA-SLEEP, a self-administered questionnaire which includes a section on nighttime sleep and an overall measure of sleep quality; higher scores indicate worse sleep. Medication intake, including medication timing in relation to bedtime, was obtained and converted to levodopa equivalents., Results: 41 Males and 21 females, median age 63.9 years, participated. Median disease duration was 5 years. After adjusting for age, sex, disease severity, and disease duration, greater total levodopa equivalent intake within 4 h of sleep was associated with higher total SCOPA-nighttime score (p = 0.009) and greater wake time after sleep onset (p = 0.049). Greater dopaminergic medication intake prior to sleep was also associated with less rapid eye movement (REM) sleep as a percent of total sleep time (p = 0.004)., Conclusions: Higher amounts of dopaminergic medications taken prior to sleep were associated with poor sleep quality and less REM sleep. Although poor nocturnal sleep in PD is likely multi-factorial in etiology, our findings suggest that timing and dose of medications prior to sleep need to be considered in its management., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is present in around 40% of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Definitive diagnosis requires a polysomnogram, but that is costly, time intensive, and not practical for large-scale studies. Therefore, we assessed using a questionnaire-based diagnostic approach., Methods: The patient-administered RBD questionnaire and bed-partner-administered question 1 of the Mayo questionnaire were prospectively validated., Results: Seventy-five PD patients (51 male, 68 Hoehn and Yahr stages I and II) participated. Forty-eight had a clinical history of RBD. Sensitivity was 100% (95% CI, 86.3%-100%) when a combination of both questionnaires was compared with the gold standard of polysomnogram-confirmed RBD. Among those who achieved REM sleep (n=65), specificity was highest for the patient questionnaire used alone, at 82.4% (95% CI, 64.8%-92.6%)., Conclusions: A combination of patient and bed-partner questionnaires is a useful tool to detect RBD., (Copyright © 2013 Movement Disorder Society.)

Importance: Biochemical abnormalities present in GBA (mut/wt) carriers may offer new pathogenetic insights to and potential therapeutic targets in Parkinson disease (PD)., Objective: To determine whether patients having PD with vs without GBA mutations differ in clinical phenotype or plasma protein expression., Design and Setting: Case-control study of patients having PD with vs without GBA mutations. Clinical characteristics were compared between groups, and biochemical profiling of 40 plasma proteins was performed to identify proteins that differed in expression between groups., Participants: The discovery cohort included 20 patients having PD with GBA mutations. Clinical characteristics of GBA-associated PD cases were compared with those of 242 patients having PD in whom GBA mutations were excluded by full gene sequencing., Main Outcome Measures: Biochemical profiling was available for all 20 GBA-associated PD cases, as well as a subset (87 of 242) of the GBA-negative PD cases. The replication cohort included 19 patients having PD with GBA mutations and 41 patients having PD without GBA mutations., Results: Compared with patients having PD without GBA mutations, patients having PD with GBA mutations were younger at disease onset (P = .04) and were more likely to demonstrate cognitive dysfunction (P = .001). In a multiple regression model that included age, sex, and assay batch as covariates, GBA mutation status was significantly associated with plasma levels of interleukin 8 (P = .001), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (P = .008), and macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (P = .005). The association between interleukin 8 and GBA mutation status was replicated (P = .03) in a separate cohort of patients having PD with vs without GBA mutations., Conclusions and Relevance: Patients having PD with GBA mutations have earlier age at disease onset and are more likely to demonstrate cognitive dysfunction. Monocyte-associated inflammatory mediators may be elevated in patients having PD with GBA mutations.

Objectives: Our objective was to compare long-term outcomes of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus interna (GPi) and subthalamic nucleus (STN) for patients with Parkinson disease (PD) in a multicenter randomized controlled trial., Methods: Patients randomly assigned to GPi (n = 89) or STN DBS (n = 70) were followed for 36 months. The primary outcome was motor function on stimulation/off medication using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor subscale. Secondary outcomes included quality of life and neurocognitive function., Results: Motor function improved between baseline and 36 months for GPi (41.1 to 27.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] -16.4 to -10.8; p < 0.001) and STN (42.5 to 29.7; 95% CI -15.8 to -9.4; p < 0.001); improvements were similar between targets and stable over time (p = 0.59). Health-related quality of life improved at 6 months on all subscales (all p values significant), but improvement diminished over time. Mattis Dementia Rating Scale scores declined faster for STN than GPi patients (p = 0.01); other neurocognitive measures showed gradual decline overall., Conclusions: The beneficial effect of DBS on motor function was stable and comparable by target over 36 months. Slight declines in quality of life following initial gains and gradual decline in neurocognitive function likely reflect underlying disease progression and highlight the importance of nonmotor symptoms in determining quality of life., Classification of Evidence: This study provides Class III evidence that improvement of motor symptoms of PD by DBS remains stable over 3 years and does not differ by surgical target. Neurology® 2012;79:55-65.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) in the treatment of depression in Parkinson disease (PD)., Methods: A total of 115 subjects with PD were enrolled at 20 sites. Subjects were randomized to receive an SSRI (paroxetine; n = 42), an SNRI (venlafaxine extended release [XR]; n = 34), or placebo (n = 39). Subjects met DSM-IV criteria for a depressive disorder, or operationally defined subsyndromal depression, and scored >12 on the first 17 items of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Subjects were followed for 12 weeks (6-week dosage adjustment, 6-week maintenance). Maximum daily dosages were 40 mg for paroxetine and 225 mg for venlafaxine XR. The primary outcome measure was change in the HAM-D score from baseline to week 12., Results: Treatment effects (relative to placebo), expressed as mean 12-week reductions in HAM-D score, were 6.2 points (97.5% confidence interval [CI] 2.2 to 10.3, p = 0.0007) in the paroxetine group and 4.2 points (97.5% CI 0.1 to 8.4, p = 0.02) in the venlafaxine XR group. No treatment effects were seen on motor function., Conclusions: Both paroxetine and venlafaxine XR significantly improved depression in subjects with PD. Both medications were generally safe and well tolerated and did not worsen motor function., Classification of Evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that paroxetine and venlafaxine XR are effective in treating depression in patients with PD.

The role of genetic factors in cognitive decline associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is unclear. We examined whether variations in apolipoprotein E (APOE), microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT), or catechol-O-methytransferase (COMT) genotypes are associated with cognitive decline in PD. We performed a prospective cohort study of 212 patients with a clinical diagnosis of PD. The primary outcome was change in Mattis Dementia Rating Scale version 2 score. Linear mixed-effects models and survival analysis were used to test for associations between genotypes and change in cognitive function over time. The ε4 allele of APOE was associated with more rapid decline (loss of 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7-4.1) of more points per year; P < 0.001) in total score and an increased risk of a ≥ 10 point drop during the follow-up period (hazard ratio, 2.8; 95% CI: 1.4-5.4; P = 0.003). MAPT haplotype and COMT genotype were associated with measures of memory and attention, respectively, over the entire follow-up period, but not with the overall rate of cognitive decline. These results confirm and extend previously described genetic associations with cognitive decline in PD and imply that individual genes may exert effects on specific cognitive domains or at different disease stages. Carrying at least one APOE ε4 allele is associated with more rapid cognitive decline in PD, supporting the idea of a component of shared etiology between PD dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Clinically, these results suggest that genotyping can provide information about the risk of future cognitive decline for PD patients., (Copyright © 2012 Movement Disorder Society.)

Background: The effects of constant-current deep brain stimulation (DBS) have not been studied in controlled trials in patients with Parkinson's disease. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of bilateral constant-current DBS of the subthalamic nucleus., Methods: This prospective, randomised, multicentre controlled trial was done between Sept 26, 2005, and Aug 13, 2010, at 15 clinical sites specialising in movement disorders in the USA. Patients were eligible if they were aged 18-80 years, had Parkinson's disease for 5 years or more, and had either 6 h or more daily off time reported in a patient diary of moderate to severe dyskinesia during waking hours. The patients received bilateral implantation in the subthalamic nucleus of a constant-current DBS device. After implantation, computer-generated randomisation was done with a block size of four, and patients were randomly assigned to the stimulation or control group (stimulation:control ratio 3:1). The control group received implantation without activation for 3 months. No blinding occurred during this study, and both patients and investigators were aware of the treatment group. The primary outcome variable was the change in on time without bothersome dyskinesia (ie, good quality on time) at 3 months as recorded in patients' diaries. Patients were followed up for 1 year. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00552474., Findings: Of 168 patients assessed for eligibility, 136 had implantation of the constant-current device and were randomly assigned to receive immediate (101 patients) or delayed (35 patients) stimulation. Both study groups reported a mean increase of good quality on time after 3 months, and the increase was greater in the stimulation group (4·27 h vs 1·77 h, difference 2·51 [95% CI 0·87-4·16]; p=0·003). Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale motor scores in the off-medication, on-stimulation condition improved by 39% from baseline (24·8 vs 40·8). Some serious adverse events occurred after DBS implantation, including infections in five (4%) of 136 patients and intracranial haemorrhage in four (3%) patients. Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus was associated with dysarthria, fatigue, paraesthesias, and oedema, whereas gait problems, disequilibrium, dyskinesia, and falls were reported in both groups., Interpretation: Constant-current DBS of the subthalamic nucleus produced significant improvements in good quality on time when compared with a control group without stimulation. Future trials should compare the effects of constant-current DBS with those of voltage-controlled stimulation., Funding: St Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Depression and antidepressant use, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are common in Parkinson disease (PD). The objective of this clinical trial was to assess the efficacy of atomoxetine, a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), for the treatment of clinically significant depressive symptoms and common comorbid neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD., Methods: A total of 55 subjects with PD and an Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Clinician (IDS-C) score > or = 22 were randomized to 8 weeks of atomoxetine or placebo treatment (target dosage = 80 mg/day). Depression response (> 50% decrease in IDS-C score or Clinical Global Impression-Improvement [CGI-I] score of 1 or 2) was assessed using intention-to-treat modeling procedures. Secondary outcomes included global cognition, daytime sleepiness, anxiety, apathy, and motor function., Results: There were no between-groups differences in a priori-defined response rates. Using a more liberal response criterion of > 40% decrease in IDS score from baseline, there was a trend (p = 0.08) favoring atomoxetine. Patients receiving atomoxetine experienced significantly greater improvement in global cognition (p = 0.003) and daytime sleepiness (p = 0.001), and atomoxetine was well-tolerated., Conclusions: Atomoxetine treatment was not efficacious for the treatment of clinically significant depressive symptoms in PD, but was associated with improvement in global cognitive performance and daytime sleepiness. Larger studies of SNRIs in PD for disorders of mood, cognition, and wakefulness are appropriate., Classification of Evidence: This interventional study provides Class II evidence that atomoxetine (target dosage = 80 mg/day) is not efficacious in improving clinically significant depression in PD.

Background: Deep-brain stimulation is the surgical procedure of choice for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. The globus pallidus interna and the subthalamic nucleus are accepted targets for this procedure. We compared 24-month outcomes for patients who had undergone bilateral stimulation of the globus pallidus interna (pallidal stimulation) or subthalamic nucleus (subthalamic stimulation)., Methods: At seven Veterans Affairs and six university hospitals, we randomly assigned 299 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease to undergo either pallidal stimulation (152 patients) or subthalamic stimulation (147 patients). The primary outcome was the change in motor function, as blindly assessed on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, part III (UPDRS-III), while patients were receiving stimulation but not receiving antiparkinsonian medication. Secondary outcomes included self-reported function, quality of life, neurocognitive function, and adverse events., Results: Mean changes in the primary outcome did not differ significantly between the two study groups (P=0.50). There was also no significant difference in self-reported function. Patients undergoing subthalamic stimulation required a lower dose of dopaminergic agents than did those undergoing pallidal stimulation (P=0.02). One component of processing speed (visuomotor) declined more after subthalamic stimulation than after pallidal stimulation (P=0.03). The level of depression worsened after subthalamic stimulation and improved after pallidal stimulation (P=0.02). Serious adverse events occurred in 51% of patients undergoing pallidal stimulation and in 56% of those undergoing subthalamic stimulation, with no significant between-group differences at 24 months., Conclusions: Patients with Parkinson's disease had similar improvement in motor function after either pallidal or subthalamic stimulation. Nonmotor factors may reasonably be included in the selection of surgical target for deep-brain stimulation. (ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT00056563 and NCT01076452.), (2010 Massachusetts Medical Society)

Context: Deep brain stimulation is an accepted treatment for advanced Parkinson disease (PD), although there are few randomized trials comparing treatments, and most studies exclude older patients., Objective: To compare 6-month outcomes for patients with PD who received deep brain stimulation or best medical therapy., Design, Setting, and Patients: Randomized controlled trial of patients who received either deep brain stimulation or best medical therapy, stratified by study site and patient age (< 70 years vs > or = 70 years) at 7 Veterans Affairs and 6 university hospitals between May 2002 and October 2005. A total of 255 patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage > or = 2 while not taking medications) were enrolled; 25% were aged 70 years or older. The final 6-month follow-up visit occurred in May 2006., Intervention: Bilateral deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (n = 60) or globus pallidus (n = 61). Patients receiving best medical therapy (n = 134) were actively managed by movement disorder neurologists., Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was time spent in the "on" state (good motor control with unimpeded motor function) without troubling dyskinesia, using motor diaries. Other outcomes included motor function, quality of life, neurocognitive function, and adverse events., Results: Patients who received deep brain stimulation gained a mean of 4.6 h/d of on time without troubling dyskinesia compared with 0 h/d for patients who received best medical therapy (between group mean difference, 4.5 h/d [95% CI, 3.7-5.4 h/d]; P < .001). Motor function improved significantly (P < .001) with deep brain stimulation vs best medical therapy, such that 71% of deep brain stimulation patients and 32% of best medical therapy patients experienced clinically meaningful motor function improvements (> or = 5 points). Compared with the best medical therapy group, the deep brain stimulation group experienced significant improvements in the summary measure of quality of life and on 7 of 8 PD quality-of-life scores (P < .001). Neurocognitive testing revealed small decrements in some areas of information processing for patients receiving deep brain stimulation vs best medical therapy. At least 1 serious adverse event occurred in 49 deep brain stimulation patients and 15 best medical therapy patients (P < .001), including 39 adverse events related to the surgical procedure and 1 death secondary to cerebral hemorrhage., Conclusion: In this randomized controlled trial of patients with advanced PD, deep brain stimulation was more effective than best medical therapy in improving on time without troubling dyskinesias, motor function, and quality of life at 6 months, but was associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events., Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00056563.

The nonmotor neuropsychiatric symptoms of Parkinson's disease, particularly depression, psychosis, and cognitive impairment/dementia, are major contributors to disability and a decline in quality of life. Their effect on patients may be more disabling than motor symptoms. Increasing awareness of the importance of recognizing and treating neuropsychiatric symptoms of this disease in the medical community is a focus of specialists and organizations. This article looks at useful screening measures to help clinicians recognize neuropsychiatric symptoms and offers suggestions for their effective treatment.

In the absence of a cure, the primary goals in managing Parkinson's disease (PD) are to preserve functionality and health-related quality of life. Meeting these goals can minimize healthcare-resource utilization and long-term healthcare costs. Although effective treatment of motor symptoms of the disease is a central consideration to facilitate improved outcomes, management of nonmotor symptoms is now recognized as an equally important target of intervention, since nonmotor symptoms can contribute greatly to disability. The article addresses the current treatment options of choice for reducing motor symptoms of PD and their most rational use. Cost-effectiveness is a major consideration for managed care and is also analyzed for many available treatment options.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease associated with substantial morbidity, increased mortality, and high economic burden. Of importance to managed care is that the number of cases of PD are on the rise, paralleling the advancing age of the population, and misdiagnosis is common. Effective management of PD can minimize disability and potentially improve long-term outcomes, which would minimize long-term healthcare costs and medical resource utilization. This article provides a brief review of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical course, and burden of PD.

Recent studies have linked dopamine agonist (DA) usage with the development of impulse control disorders (ICDs) in Parkinson's disease (PD). Little is known about optimal management strategies or the long-term outcomes of affected patients. To report on the clinical interventions and long-term outcomes of PD patients who developed an ICD after DA initiation. Subjects contacted by telephone for a follow-up interview after a mean time period of 29.2 months. They were administered a modified Minnesota Impulse Disorder Interview for compulsive buying, gambling, and sexuality, and also self-rated changes in their ICD symptomatology. Baseline and follow-up dopamine replacement therapy use was recorded and verified by chart review. Of 18 subjects, 15 (83.3%) participated in the follow-up interview. At follow-up, patients were receiving a significantly lower DA levodopa equivalent daily dosage (LEDD) (Z = -3.1, P = 0.002) and a higher daily levodopa dosage (Z = -1.9, P = 0.05), but a similar total LEDD dosage (Z = -0.47, P = 0.64) with no changes in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor score (Z = -1.3, P = 0.19). As part of ICD management, 12 (80.0%) patients discontinued or significantly decreased DA treatment, all of whom experienced full or partial remission of ICD symptoms by self-report, and 10 (83.3%) of whom no longer met diagnostic criteria for an ICD. For PD patients who develop an ICD in the context of DA treatment, discontinuing or significantly decreasing DA exposure, even when offset by an increase in levodopa treatment, is associated with remission of or significant reduction in ICD behaviors without worsening in motor symptoms., (2007 Movement Disorder Society)

Twenty-four Parkinsonism patients were compared with `normal controls' and with another chronically disabled group, matched for age, sex distribution, and socioeconomic background, on measures of depression and some intellectual factors. A tendency to depression in the Parkinsonism sufferers was demonstrated together with an apparent specific intellectual deficit, for which a cause related to the motor disabilities of the disease is postulated.