Like a Wave in Its Variable Shape, Breadth, and Depth: A Qualitative Interview Study of Experiences of Daytime Sleepiness in People with Parkinson's Disease.

Introduction: Daytime sleepiness is a common nonmotor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD) which is associated with decreased quality of life and perceived health. However, experiences of daytime sleepiness in people with PD have not been explored. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore experiences of daytime sleepiness in people with PD. Materials and Methods: Five women and seven men (42-82 years) with PD for 1.5 to 21 years and excessive daytime sleepiness (i.e., a score of >10 on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale) participated in the study. Data were collected through individual, semistructured, face-to-face interviews and analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: Three themes of the experience of daytime sleepiness were revealed: (1) not an isolated phenomenon, (2) something to struggle against or accept, and (3) something beyond sleepiness. Conclusion. Daytime sleepiness is a complex nonmotor symptom in PD which manifests itself in several ways. Some experiences are similar, for instance, the attribution of daytime sleepiness to PD and its medical treatment. Differences depend on how sleepiness manifests itself, affects the person, and impacts daily life, as well as whether it causes feelings of embarrassment. Some participants needed to struggle against daytime sleepiness most of the time, and others had found a way to handle it, for example, with physical activity. However, sleepiness may also be used to benefit the person, for example, if they allow themselves to take a power nap to regain energy. The health care professionals can easily underestimate or misinterpret the prevalence and burden of daytime sleepiness because people with PD may describe daytime sleepiness as tiredness, drowsiness, or feeling exhausted, not as sleepiness.

Associations Between Fluctuations in Daytime Sleepiness and Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Non-motor fluctuations are a major concern in Parkinson's disease (PD), and they have been categorized into neuropsychiatric, autonomic and sensory fluctuations. However, this categorization does not include sleep and sleep-related features, and the association between daytime sleepiness and other motor and/or non-motor fluctuations in PD remains to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between daytime sleepiness and other non-motor and motor fluctuations in people with PD. METHODS: A three-day home diary recording daytime sleepiness, mood, anxiety, and motor symptoms was used along with the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and 6 days of accelerometer (Parkinson's KinetiGraph™; PKG™) registration to detect motor fluctuations among people with a DaTSCAN verified clinical PD diagnosis (32 men; mean PD duration, 8.2 years). Participants were categorized as motor fluctuators or non-fluctuators according to the UPDRS part IV and/or the presence of motor and non-motor fluctuations. RESULTS: Fifty-two people with PD participated. Daytime sleepiness correlated significantly with motor symptoms, mood and anxiety among those classified as motor fluctuators (n = 28). Motor fluctuators showed stronger correlations between the individual mean level of all diary variables (daytime sleepiness, anxiety, mood and motor symptoms) when compared to the non-fluctuators (n = 24). Stronger positive within-individual correlations were found among fluctuators in comparison to non-fluctuators. In general, PKG data did not correlate with diary data. CONCLUSION: Episodes of daytime sleepiness, as reported by home diaries, were associated with other self-reported non-motor and motor fluctuations, but were not supported by PKG data.

Apomorphine formulation may influence subcutaneous complications from continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion in Parkinson's disease.

Continuous subcutaneous (s.c.) apomorphine infusion is an effective therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD), but a limitation is the formation of troublesome s.c. nodules. Various chemically non-identical apomorphine formulations are available. Anecdotal experiences have suggested that shifting from one of these (Apo-Go PumpFill®; apoGPF) to another (Apomorphine PharmSwed®; apoPS) may influence the occurrence and severity of s.c. nodules. We, therefore, followed 15 people with advanced PD (median PD-duration, 15 years; median "off"-phase Hoehn and Yahr, IV) on apoGPF and with troublesome s.c. nodules who were switched to apoPS. Data were collected at baseline, at the time of switching, and at a median of 1, 2.5, and 7.3 months post-switch. Total nodule numbers (P < 0.001), size (P < 0.001), consistency (P < 0.001), skin changes (P = 0.058), and pain (P ≤ 0.032) improved over the observation period. PD severity and dyskinesias tended to improve and increase, respectively. Apomorphine doses were stable, but levodopa doses increased by 100 mg/day. Patient-reported apomorphine efficacy tended to increase and all participants remained on apoPS throughout the observation period; with the main patient-reported reason being improved nodules. These observations suggest that patients with s.c. nodules caused by apoGPF may benefit from switching to apoPS in terms of s.c. nodule occurrence and severity. Alternatively, observed benefits may have been due to the switch itself. As nodule formation is a limiting factor in apomorphine treatment, a controlled prospective study comparing local tolerance with different formulations is warranted.

A 10-Year Follow-Up of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Parkinson's Disease.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) over time and in relation to other PD symptoms among people with Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: Thirty participants younger than 65 years with PD were randomly selected. At inclusion, mean (SD) disease duration was 6.2 (4.8) years and median (min-max) severity of PD was classified as stage II (stages I-III) according to Hoehn and Yahr. Participants were followed annually for 10 years with clinical assessments of their PD status, medications, comorbidities, and a standardized interview about their sleep habits and occurrence of daytime sleepiness. EDS was assessed by the self-reported Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Seventeen participants completed the 10-year longitudinal follow-up. RESULTS: Fifteen of 30 persons were classified to suffer from EDS (ESS > 10) at baseline. At the group level, EDS remained stable over 10 years and did not deteriorate in parallel with worsening of motor symptoms. Furthermore, EDS was associated with sleep quality, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and axial/postural/gait impairments. CONCLUSIONS: EDS did not worsen over 10 years, although other PD aspects did. EDS in PD seems to be a complex nonmotor symptom that is unrelated to deterioration of motor symptoms in PD.

Measuring fatigue in Parkinson's disease: a psychometric study of two brief generic fatigue questionnaires.

This study evaluated and compared the measurement properties of the 13-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue Scale (FACIT-F) and the 9-item Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) in 118 consecutive Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, using traditional and Rasch measurement methodologies. Both questionnaires exhibited excellent data quality and reliability (coefficient alpha>or=0.9), and acceptable rating scale functionality, and both discriminated between fatigued and nonfatigued patients. Factor and Rasch analyses provided general support for unidimensionality of both FACIT-F and FSS, although they do not appear to measure identical aspects of fatigue. No signs of differential item functioning (DIF) were found for the FACIT-F, whereas potential age DIF was detected for two FSS items. These results support the measurement validity of both questionnaires in PD, although the FACIT-F displayed better measurement precision and modest psychometric advantages over the FSS. Availability of psychometrically sound fatigue measures that are applicable across disorders provides a sound basis for advancing the understanding of this common and distressing complaint.