Long-term duodenal levodopa infusion in Parkinson's disease: a 3-year motor and cognitive follow-up study.

Duodenal infusion of levodopa/carbidopa gel (Duodopa) is an effective treatment option for advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Long-term clinical experience up to 16 years suggests that the safety of this procedure is acceptable, while several observational studies showed that Duodopa reduces motor fluctuations and dyskinesias improving patients' quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study is to investigate the long-term motor and cognitive outcome of Duodopa treatment in advanced PD patients and its' impact on the QoL. Twenty-five consecutive PD patients were assessed using the Unified PD rating scale (UPDRS), a battery of neuropsychological tests, and the PD questionnaire (PDQ-39) at baseline and after a mean period of three years of Duodopa treatment. Seventeen out of 25 patients reached the follow-up evaluation; five patients discontinued Duodopa and three patients died of causes unrelated to drug infusion. Duodopa improved motor complications (UPDRS-IV) and quality of life (PDQ-39). A sub-group of subjects (41 %) developed a significant deterioration of cognitive functions over time. The most common adverse events were dislocation and the kinking of the intestinal tube. In conclusion, Duodopa therapy is effective in the long-term treatment of advanced PD patients. Continuous enteral levodopa infusion achieves a reduction of motor fluctuations and dyskinesias improving patients' QoL, despite the progression of PD motor symptoms and a significant decline in cognitive functions in a sub-group of patients.

Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation outcome in young onset Parkinson's disease: a role for age at disease onset?

BACKGROUND: Patients with young onset Parkinson's disease (YOPD) are often candidates for subthalamic nucleus-deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS). Nevertheless, few data have been reported on the long term STN-DBS clinical outcome of YOPD versus non-young onset Parkinson's disease (n-YOPD) patients. AIM: In this study, the issue of whether YOPD might represent a long term positive predictive factor for STN-DBS was addressed, comparing follow-up data for 20 YOPD and 40 n-YOPD patients (20 treated after <15 years of disease duration and 20 treated after ≥15 years of disease duration). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mean scores for the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) sections were compared 1 year, 5 years and, for 34 patients (12 YOPD and 22 n-YOPD), ≥7 years after surgery. Furthermore, a Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to determine the influence of age at PD onset, clinical phenotype, disease duration and duration of motor complications on the development of stimulation and medication resistant symptoms. RESULTS: YOPD patients showed a lower incidence of stimulation and medication resistant symptoms and a lower mortality rate; also, the tremor dominant clinical phenotype was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia, hallucinations and constipation. No significant differences in UPDRS scores were observed between n-YOPD patients treated after <15 years of PD and those treated after ≥15 years of PD. CONCLUSION: In this series of STN-DBS treated patients, YOPD was associated with a medium to long term lower incidence of stimulation and medication resistant symptoms.

Beyond nine years of continuous subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease.

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus is an effective treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease. The benefits of bilateral subthalamic stimulation are well documented, and some studies reported outcomes with a follow-up of 5 to 6 years; nevertheless, few data are available beyond 5 years. We report a long-term prospective evaluation of 14 consecutive parkinsonian patients, treated by bilateral subthalamic stimulation for at least 9 years. Motor symptoms, activity of daily living, and motor complications were evaluated by means of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, while cognition and mood were assessed with a specific neuropsychological test battery; medication intake, stimulation parameters, comorbidity, and adverse events were also recorded. Patients were evaluated before surgery and at 1, 5, and ≥ 9 years after surgery. At last follow-up, deep brain stimulation significantly improved the motor score by 42% compared to baseline, whereas activities of daily living were no longer improved; there was a 39% reduction in the dosage of dopaminergic drugs and a 59% improvement of L-dopa-related motor complications. The neuropsychological assessment showed that 4 patients (29%) developed a significant cognitive decline over the follow-up period. These results indicate a persistent effect of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on the cardinal motor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease patients in the long-term; however, a worsening of patients' disability, mainly due to disease progression, was observed.