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Autonomic dysfunction in Parkinson's disease: a comprehensive symptom survey

2002; Elsevier BV; Volume: 8; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s1353-8020(01)00052-9

1873-5126

Mariah Siddiqui, Shirley A. Rast, Michael Lynn, Alexander P. Auchus, Ronald F. Pfeiffer,

Botulinum Toxin and Related Neurological Disorders

Autonomic dysfunction occurs in Parkinson's disease (PD), but few studies have addressed it in a comprehensive manner.Autonomic symptoms were evaluated by a questionnaire in sixty-eight subjects (44 patients and 24 controls).PD patients experienced higher frequency and severity of autonomic dysfunction. When all autonomic symptoms were pooled into an aggregate score, differences between patients and controls were highly statistically significant (p<0.0001). 'Increased salivation', 'frequency of dysphagia', decreased 'BM (bowel movement) frequency', i.e. constipation, and 'orthostatic dizziness' were more frequent in PD patients (p<0.05). A prediction model to determine the predictors of autonomic dysfunction was unsuccessful.Differences in the prevalence of autonomic symptoms in PD and non-parkinsonian controls are apparent from this study.