A systematic review and mixed treatment comparison of monotherapy in early Parkinson's disease: implications for Latin America.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. There are no clinical trials comparing all available pharmacological therapies for the treatment of early PD. The objective of this review is to indirectly analyze the efficacy of antiparkinson drugs currently available in Latin America. A systematic review was performed exploring only placebo-controlled randomized trials comparing antiparkinson monotherapy (levodopa, pramipexole, rasagiline, or selegiline) in patients with PD on Hoehn and Yahr stages I through III published from January 1994 to May 2014. The primary outcome was the mean change in the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) I, II and III. A mixed treatment comparison analysis (indirect comparisons) through a random-effects model was performed. Levodopa demonstrated the highest effects in terms of UPDRS score improvement both from baseline and when compared to other treatments. Levodopa showed a 60.1% probability of granting the greatest reduction in UPDRS I, II and III.

No Difference on Adherence Between Immediate-Release Versus Extended-Release Dopamine Agonists in Uninsured Subjects with Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacological management of subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD) is complex. Regardless of drug selection, adherence is one of the main concerns. Nonadherence is associated with poor symptomatic control and low quality of life. In general, adherence to once-a-day formulations is thought to be better in comparison to 3-times-daily dosing. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out. Consecutive uninsured subjects diagnosed with PD were treated either with an immediate- or extended-release dopamine agonist formulation. Clinical and demographic data were collected. Subjects were assessed using the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society UPDRS. Adherence was evaluated using the Morisky-Green test (MGT). RESULTS: A total of 314 (175 males and 139 females) subjects with PD were included. In regard to treatment, 188 (59.9%) were on an immediate-release dopamine agonist and 126 (40.1%) on an extended-release dopamine agonist. According to the MGT, 21 (6.7%) subjects were classified as nonadherent, 273 (86.9%) with a low adherence, and only 20 (6.4%) were considered with high adherence. Dopamine agonist levodopa equivalent daily dose was higher in the extended-release group (296.6 ± 112.4 vs. 231.3 ± 133.4; P = 0.011); also, these subjects had more years of formal education (12.3 ± 5.2 vs. 9.5 ± 5.2; P = 0.630). No difference in adherence levels was found (P = 0.802) between subjects treated with an immediate-release dopamine agonist and those receiving an extended-release formulation. CONCLUSIONS: Overall adherence in subjects with PD is low. Use of an extended-release over an immediate-release dopamine agonist formulation in this study population is not associated with a better adherence.

Electroconvulsive therapy in Parkinson´s disease / A eletroconvulsoterapia na doença de Parkinson

Purpose To analyze the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy for the management of depression and/or psychosis refractory to drug therapy in patients with Parkinson disease.Methods A retrospective study was carried out including patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy during the period between 2002 and 2013. A review of the literature was performed.Results A total of 27 patients were included. In regards to the neuropsychiatric diagnosis, 14 patients had major depression, 12 patients had both psychosis and depression, and only one patient had isolated psychosis. The mean number of electroconvulsive therapy sessions was 12 ± 2.8. After electroconvulsive therapy, all patients showed a statistically significant improvement in the Brief Psychiatric Rating scale (reduction of 52% points) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (reduction of 50% points) independent of the presence of psychosis, depression or both.Conclusion Electroconvulsive therapy is effective for the treatment of refractory neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson’s disease.

Propósito Analisar a eficácia da eletroconvulsoterapia para o tratamento da depressão e/ou psicoses refratária ao tratamento medicamentoso em pacientes com doença de Parkinson.Métodos Um estudo retrospectivo foi realizado com pacientes tratados com a eletroconvulsoterapia, durante o período entre 2002 e 2013. Uma revisão da literatura foi realizada.Resultados Um total de 27 pacientes foram incluídos. Em relação ao diagnóstico neuropsiquiátrico, 14 pacientes tinham depressão maior, 12 pacientes tiveram tanto psicoses e depressão, e apenas um paciente tinha isolado psicoses. O número médio de sessões de eletroconvulsoterapia foi de 12 ± 2,8. Após a eletroconvulsoterapia, todos os pacientes apresentaram uma melhora estatisticamente significativa no Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (redução de 52% de pontos) e Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (redução de 50% de pontos), independente da presença de psicose, depressão ou ambos.Conclusão Eletroconvulsoterapia é eficaz para o tratamento de sintomas neuropsiquiátricos refractários na doença de Parkinson.

Change in Motor and Nonmotor Symptoms Severity in a "Real-Life" Cohort of Subjects with Parkinson's Disease.

Background. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive disorder. Rates of change in motor symptoms have been more studied compared to nonmotor symptoms. The objective was to describe these changes in a real-life cohort of subjects with PD. Methods. A cohort study was carried out from 2011 to 2013. Consecutive patients with PD were recruited from a movement disorders clinic. MDS-UPDRS, PDQ-8, and NMSS were applied to all subjects at an initial evaluation and a subsequent visit (21 ± 3 months). Disease severity was categorized using a recent classification of MDS-UPDRS severity. Results. The MDS-UPDRS Part III showed a significant decrease of 7.2 ± 2.31 points (p = 0.001) between evaluations. A mean increase of 0.9 ± 0.6 points (p = 0.015) in the MDS-UPDRS Part IV was observed. An increase of 14.3 ± 11.4 points (p = 0.043) in the NMSS total score was found; when assessed individually, the difference was statistically significant only for the perceptual problems/hallucinations item. Quality of life remained unchanged. Conclusion. Motor improvement was observed accompanied by an increase in motor complications possibly as a result of treatment optimization. Nonmotor symptoms worsened as a whole. The overall effect in the quality of life was negligible.

Electroconvulsive therapy in Parkinson's disease.

Purpose To analyze the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy for the management of depression and/or psychosis refractory to drug therapy in patients with Parkinson disease.Methods A retrospective study was carried out including patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy during the period between 2002 and 2013. A review of the literature was performed.Results A total of 27 patients were included. In regards to the neuropsychiatric diagnosis, 14 patients had major depression, 12 patients had both psychosis and depression, and only one patient had isolated psychosis. The mean number of electroconvulsive therapy sessions was 12 ± 2.8. After electroconvulsive therapy, all patients showed a statistically significant improvement in the Brief Psychiatric Rating scale (reduction of 52% points) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (reduction of 50% points) independent of the presence of psychosis, depression or both.Conclusion Electroconvulsive therapy is effective for the treatment of refractory neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease.

Impact of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms on the Quality of Life of Subjects with Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) are frequent. Impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms on quality of life has recently become a relevant topic of research due to its potential to develop targeted therapies to improve quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with PD using the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire Short Form (PDQ-8). METHODS: Consecutive patients with PD were evaluated with the Scale for Evaluation of Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Parkinson's disease (SEND-PD) and PDQ-8 scales separately. Association between neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life was explored using, means comparisons, correlation coefficients and multiple regression models. RESULTS: A total of 492 patients were included for the study. Overall, 44.5% had psychotic symptoms, 76.5% had alterations on mood/apathy domains, and 27% had an impulse control disorder. All neuropsychiatric symptoms had an effect on the PDQ-8 with a moderate to large effect size. Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.17 to 0.63 between neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life (p <  0.001, in all cases). The regression model showed that mood/apathy alterations and impulse control disorders, along with MDS-UPDRS III accounted for 49.8% of variance in the PDQ-8 simplified index (F = 122.98; p <  0.001). Mood/apathy alterations showed the highest correlation coefficient (0.63, p <  0.001) and ß (0.53, p <  0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Both the presence and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms, in particular mood/apathy alterations,had a significant impact on quality of life in subjects with PD.

Convergent validation of EQ-5D-5L in patients with Parkinson's disease.

INTRODUCTION: The European Quality of Life Questionnaire 5 level version (EQ-5D-5L) is a recently updated instrument to assess Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) that has not been validated extensively. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the internal consistency and convergent validation of the EQ-5D-5L in a large sample of subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out. Consecutive Mexican subjects with PD were included. HRQoL was assessed using the EQ-5D-5L and the PDQ-8. Validity of the EQ-5D-5L was assessed determining its association with clinical ratings of disease severity, as well as correlation with PDQ-8. Additionally, performance was evaluated along predefined groups based on clinical and demographic data of known determinants of quality of life. RESULTS: A total of 585 patients were included for this study. A strong correlation was found between EQ-5D-5L index and PDQ-8 index (Spearman's correlation coefficient=-0.75; p<0.001). Correlation between EQ-5D-5L index and PDQ-8 index remained strong (-0.60 to -0.78; p values <0.001) through all predefined groups. EQ-5D-5L scored higher in those patients with dyskinesia, wearing off, freezing, postural instability, cognitive impairment or depressive mood (p values <0.001). CONCLUSION: The EQ-5D-5L is a valid instrument for evaluating HRQoL in PD, performing adequately irrespective of heterogeneous clinical and demographic characteristics, and showing to be sensitive to features of advanced disease and treatment complications.

Independent Validation of the SEND-PD and Correlation with the MDS-UPDRS Part IA.

Introduction. Neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease can be assessed by the MDS-UPDRS part IA. The Scale for Evaluation of Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Parkinson's disease (SEND-PD) has been recently developed to assess the severity of some neuropsychiatric symptoms. The objective of this study is to compare the performance of the SEND-PD with the corresponding items of the MDS-UPDRS part IA. Methods. Patients with Parkinson's disease were evaluated using the MDS-UPDRS and the SEND-PD by independent raters. Partial SEND-PD and neuropsychiatric MDS-UPDRS part IA were constructed with equivalent items for comparison. Results. A total of 260 consecutive patients were included. Overall, 61.2% of the patients did not report any psychotic symptom and 83.5% did not report any ICD symptom. On the other hand, 78.5% of the patients did report at least one symptom related to apathy, depression, or anxiety. The partial SEND-PD score was 2.9 ± 3.1 (range from 0 to 16). The neuropsychiatric MDS-UPDRS part IA score was 2.9 ± 3 (range from 0 to 14). The correlation coefficient between corresponding items ranged from 0.67 to 0.98 and between both summary indexes was r s = 0.93 (all, P < 0.001). Conclusion. A high association between equivalent items of the SEND-PD and the MDS-UPDRS was found.