AIM:To investigate the levodopa response (LDR) in a detailed manner in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with and without STN-DBS. In this respect, we sought to evaluate the effect of LDR on distinct motor symptoms one by one. METHODS:The data of all consecutive PD patients who visited our movement disorders outpatient clinics at Etlik City Hospital between January 2023 and January 2024 were retrospectively evaluated. We enrolled patients whose full clinical assessments were available. The LDR was evaluated according to a previously described method. RESULTS:We included 194 PD patients in this study [49 STN-DBS (+) patients, 145 STN-DBS (-) patients]. The disease duration was greater in the STN-DBS group, as expected (12 y, 5 y, p = 0.00). The LDR ratios for the total score and subitem scores of the MDS-UPDRS-3 were similar between the patient groups. All the subscores of the MDS-UPDRS-3 were significantly lower for the 'ON' medication state than for the 'OFF' medication state in both patient groups. CONCLUSIONS:We demonstrated similar LDR rates for all motor subitems in patients with and without STN-DBS in a detailed manner. Our findings demonstrate the benefit of dopaminergic treatment on distinct motor symptoms in patients with STN-DBS.

BACKGROUND:In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical features of a large group of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), paying particular attention to the nonmotor symptom (NMS) load. Secondly, we aimed to investigate the clinical correlates of NMSs using the results of various clinical assessments. METHODS:Data from all PD patients who visited our movement disorders clinic between January 2023 and March 2024 were retrospectively reviewed. We included the data of all patients whose information regarding clinical features and extensive scale results were available. RESULTS:Overall, we included data from 285 PD patients with a mean age of 64.5 ± 10.0 years (F/M = 119/166). The median scores of the MDS-UPDRS subparts were 9 for MDS-UPDRS-1 and 30 for MDS-UPDRS-3 (off). The median NMSS score was 38 (range: 229), and 46% of the patients had severe to very severe disease in terms of NMS burden. The regression analyses revealed the MDS-UPDRS 3 score, FES-I score, and RBD (0.9772 + 0.453*MDS-UPDRS 3 + 0.724 * FES-I + 15.192*RBD) as predictors of the NMS scale. CONCLUSIONS:We found a very high NMS burden in our PD cohort. Remarkably, RBD, motor stage, and concern about falling were found to correlate with NMS load.

ObjectiveThe objective was to determine the prevalence and clinical correlates of nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients in movement disorders outpatient clinics.MethodsWe enrolled all consecutive PD patients who visited our movement disorders outpatient clinics between January and December 2023; and agreed to participate in the study. In addition to the evaluation of demographic and clinical features, clinical scales, including the MDS-UPDRS, NMSS, and FOOGQ, were performed.ResultsOverall, we enrolled 163 PD subjects with a mean age of 63.9 +/- 10.4 (F/M = 27/136). The disease duration was 3.5 (20) y [median (range)]. The median score of the NMSS was 41 points. The NMSs burden levels were severe in 25.2%, and very severe in 25.2% of the subjects. The subitems with the highest scores were sleep/fatigue, mood/cognition, urinary, and miscellaneous. The analyses within the patient group with newly diagnosed PD also revealed high NMSS scores. Comparisons of the NMSS between distinct PD stages revealed greater NMSS scores in the severe stage than in the mild stage (p = 0.001). Correlation analyses between the clinical scores and the NMSS scores revealed positive correlations between the NMSS scores and the scores on all the clinical scales including the MDS-UPDRS 1-4, and FOGQ.ConclusionWe reported the first data regarding the NMS burden in PD patients from Turkey. We found a high prevalence and severity of various domains of NMSs, most of which were sleep/fatigue, mood/cognition, urinary, and miscellaneous. More than half of the patients had severe to very severe NMS burden. Although NMSs were more common severe-stage disease, they were also prevalent in the subgroup with newly diagnosed patients.