BACKGROUND: Depression and pain are significant clinical problems that are comorbid with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the relationship of these variables with the marital status of patients with PD has not been explored in previous studies. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess the possible relationship between depression prevalence, depression severity, and pain interference with the marital status of the sufferers of PD. METHODS: This study included 40 patients and 40 healthy control participants who were assessed for depression prevalence and severity using The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The same individuals were also assessed for pain interference using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). RESULTS: When compared to the control groups, the PD (Single) group was found to have the highest prevalence of depression, followed by the PD (Married) group whereas the Control (Single) group was found to have a higher prevalence than the Control (Married) group (P < 0.0001). A main effect was found on depression severity (P < 0.0001), but no significant differences were observed between the PD groups. Lastly, PD (Single) patients had significantly greater pain interference scores than the PD (Married) patients (P < 0.05) with no other significant case-control or control-control group differences. CONCLUSION: Patient-spouse relationship, which indicates physical and emotional support may have a mitigating effect on patient outcomes of depression prevalence and pain interference.
Depression/epidemiology , Marital Status/statistics & numerical data , Pain/epidemiology , Parkinson Disease/epidemiology , Aged , Case-Control Studies , Depression/complications , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pain/complications , Parkinson Disease/complications , Quality of Life
Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a well established disorder of the blood vessels. However, it is still sometimes not diagnosed early enough to avoid serious complications. It is the later stage that carries the more serious complications. Therefore, we emphasize the ways in which the diagnosis can be made early enough to avoid this stage of the disease. We report a case of CSS that was not diagnosed early and so the patient went on to develop severe cardiac and neurological manifestations. In this report we discuss the techniques and the methods to diagnose CSS and discuss their effectiveness in establishing the diagnosis. We also explore late cardiac and neurological complications because these are particularly serious complications later in the disease. We conclude that the criteria established by the American College of Rheumatology for CSS is the best tool available for early diagnosis and that late stage manifestations of CSS carry high rates of morbidity and mortality.
Asthma/etiology , Churg-Strauss Syndrome/complications , Churg-Strauss Syndrome/diagnosis , Eosinophilia/etiology , Delayed Diagnosis , Female , Humans , Hypesthesia/etiology , Middle Aged , Muscle Weakness/etiology
Constipation/diagnosis , Parkinson Disease/diagnosis , Spinal Stenosis/diagnosis , Constipation/etiology , Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Middle Aged , Parkinson Disease/complications , Radiography, Abdominal , Spinal Stenosis/complications , Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Long-term levodopa use is associated with the "End of Dose Wearing Off" (EODWO) phenomenon wherein Parkinsonian symptoms return before a patient's next scheduled dose of levodopa. Wearing off symptoms may include a variety of autonomic, emotional, motor, psychological and sensory abnormalities. Abdominal pain may be an important wearing off symptom as an early indicator of the development of EODWO in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. In this report, we present two patients on levodopa therapy for PD who developed acute abdominal pain as a symptom of EODWO.
Abdominal Pain/etiology , Antiparkinson Agents/therapeutic use , Levodopa/therapeutic use , Parkinson Disease/drug therapy , Aged , Humans , Male , Middle Aged
