Elise Tandberg

Predictors of nursing home placement in Parkinson's disease: a population-based, prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the rate and predictors of nursing home placement in patients with Parkinsons disease.

Range of neuropsychiatric disturbances in patients with Parkinson’s disease

OBJECTIVES Disturbances of cognition and emotion are common in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Most previous studies of psychopathology in Parkinson’s disease have focused on a single psychiatric diagnosis or condition. The objective of this study was to describe the range of neuropsychiatric symptoms in a representative sample of patients with Parkinson’s disease. METHODS The sample of 139 patients was drawn from an epidemiological study of Parkinson’s disease in Rogaland county, Norway, and represented 93% of those who had survived during the 4 years since the initial assessment. The diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease was based on published criteria. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were assessed using the neuropsychiatric inventory, a caregiver based structured interview, which assesses severity and frequency of 10 psychiatric symptoms present during the past month. RESULTS At least one psychiatric symptom was reported in 61% of the sample. The most common behaviours were depression (38%) and hallucinations (27%), and the least common symptoms were euphoria and disinhibition. The highest mean scores were found for depression, apathy, and hallucinations. Factor analysis showed that hallucinations, delusions, and irritability clustered into one factor, and apathy and anxiety constituted another factor. Psychiatric symptoms were more common among patients living in nursing homes compared with home dwelling patients, and correlated with stage of disease and cognitive impairment, but not with age or duration of disease. No relation to left or right sided parkinsonism was found. CONCLUSION This study emphasises the importance of psychiatric symptoms in Parkinson’s disease, which were present in most patients. Clinicians should focus on the emotional and cognitive disturbances in addition to the motor manifestations of the disease.

Influence of clinical and demographic variables on quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease

OBJECTIVES To identify the clinical and demographic factors that are associated with a poor quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease. METHODS 233 of a total of 245 patients identified in a community based study in a Norwegian county participated in the study. Quality of life was measured by the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). The results were compared with those in 100 healthy elderly people. Clinical and demographic variables were determined during a semistructured interview and by clinical examination by a neurologist. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine which variables were associated with higher distress scores. RESULTS Patients with Parkinson’s disease had higher distress scores than the healthy elderly people for all the NHP dimensions. The variables that most strongly predicted a high total NHP score were depressive symptoms, self reported insomnia, and a low degree of independence, measured by the Schwab and England scale. Severity of parkinsonism contributed, but to a lesser extent. Nearly half the patients with Parkinson’s disease reported lack of energy, compared with a fifth of the control group. Severity of depressive symptoms and a higher score on the UPDRS motor subscale only partly accounted for this finding. Only 30% of the variation in NHP energy score was explained by the predictive variables identified in this study. CONCLUSIONS Parkinson’s disease has a substantial impact on health related quality of life. Depressive symptoms and sleep disorders correlated strongly with high distress scores. Patients with Parkinson’s disease should be examined for both conditions, which require treatment. Low energy was commonly reported and may be a separate entity of Parkinson’s disease.

Excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep benefit in Parkinson's disease : A community-based study

The objective of this study was to investigate the frequency of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and the beneficial effect of sleep on motor performance in an unselected community‐based sample of patients with Parkinsons disease (PD). Furthermore, we wanted to identify possible risk factors to these phenomena. Detailed information on somnolence and sleep during daytime, as well as sleep benefit (SB) on awakening, was collected through a questionnaire among 245 patients with PD. Daytime somnolence was graded in groups of no somnolence, mild daytime sleepiness, and EDS. In addition, the occurrence of somnolence in the patients with PD was compared with the occurrence among control groups of patients with diabetes mellitus and of healthy elderly subjects. The correlations between EDS and SB and various motor‐ and non‐motor symptoms of PD were evaluated. Among the patients with PD, 15.5% experienced EDS, significantly more than in the patients with diabetes mellitus (4%) and the healthy control subjects (1%). The frequency of mild daytime sleepiness was similar (10%) in patients with PD and control subjects. The patients with EDS had significantly higher staging of PD, were more disabled, and showed a higher frequency of cognitive decline compared with the patients without somnolence. They also had been using levodopa for a longer time and had more hallucinations. The occurrence of nocturnal sleeping problems and the use of sleeping pills was similar in the two groups, as was the mean age at examination, duration of PD, and presence of fluctuations and dyskinesias. SB was found in 42.2% of the patients with PD. These patients had been using levodopa for significantly longer and had significantly more fluctuations and dyskinesias compared with the patients without SB. Our results suggest that mild daytime sleepiness may be a result of normal aging, whereas more severe EDS can be explained by the neuropathologic changes of PD. The data from this community‐based study confirms the previously reported high frequencies of SB.

Health related quality of life in Parkinson's disease: a prospective longitudinal study

OBJECTIVES To examine the change over time in health related quality of life (HRQL) in a community based cohort of patients with Parkinsons disease. METHODS One hundred and eleven patients were evaluated for HRQL in 1993 and then again in a follow up study 4 years later. The patients included in the study in 1993 were derived from a prevalence study of patients with Parkinsons disease in the county of Rogaland, Norway. The HRQL was measured by the Nottingham health profile (NHP). At both evaluations clinical and demographic variables were determined during semistructured interviews and by clinical examinations by a neurologist. RESULTS During the 4 year follow up period there was a significant increase in NHP scores, reflecting a decreased HRQL, in the dimensions of physical mobility, emotional reactions, pain, and social isolation. In the same time period mean total NHP score increased from 120.0 (SD 102.6) to 176.0 (SD 119.4) (p<0.01). There were no clinical or demographic factors found in 1993 that identified patients at higher risk for developing decreased HRQL. Increased UPDRS score (unified Parkinsons disease rating scale) and Hoehn and Yahr stage during the 4 year study period correlated with increased NHP scores. Even though there was no increase in depressive symptoms or self reported insomnia, these symptoms, together with lower Schwab and England score, were the most important factors for a poor HRQL in 1997. CONCLUSIONS Parkinsons disease has a substantial impact on HRQL. Despite modern care, we found a significantly increased distress during the 4 year follow up period. Increased parkinsonism, measured by UPDRS and Hoehn and Yahr stage, correlated with increased stress, not only in the dimension of physical mobility, but also in the areas of pain, social isolation, and emotional reactions. In addition to the clinical examination, HRQL scoring provides valuable information on the total health burden of Parkinsons disease in both cross sectional and longitudinal evaluations, and contributes to a more comprehensive picture of the total disease impact.

Fatigue in patients with Parkinson's disease.

To compare the prevalence of fatigue in patients with Parkinsons disease (PD) with that in healthy elderly people and to explore the suggestion that fatigue is an independent symptom of PD.

Sleep disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease: epidemiology and management.

Patients with Parkinson’s disease can experience a number of sleep disorders, including insomnia, parasomnias and daytime somnolence [specifically, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and sleep attacks].Insomnia is a frequent and important complaint of patients with the disease. Both the pathology of Parkinson’s disease and dopaminergic drugs may contribute to the much higher than expected frequency of sleep fragmentation and disrupted sleep among these patients. In addition, coexisting depression seems to be a major and frequent risk factor for insomnia in Parkinson’s disease.After recognising a sleep problem, the first step in management is to examine and diagnose the type of insomnia and possible medical or psychological factors that may disturb nocturnal sleep. The next step is to give the patient appropriate advice on sleep hygiene.Increasing the dosage of dopaminergic drug treatment will often increase sleep disruption and should be avoided unless the patient’s sleep is primarily disturbed by the motor manifestations of parkinsonism during the night. Depression should be looked for and if appropriate be treated in any patients with insomnia. If it becomes necessary to treat the patient with an hypnosedative agent, it is important to use a drug with a short half-life and that manifests as few adverse effects as possible the next morning. Up-to-date guidelines for the use of hypnosedatives should be followed.Patients with Parkinson’s disease experience a wide range of parasomnias. The majority of behaviours may be related to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) or to a spectrum of symptoms ranging from vivid dreaming to psychosis. RBD is effectively treated with clonazepam. In addition, the atypical antipsychotics have given physicians new and better treatment options for psychotic symptoms in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.EDS is common in Parkinson’s disease, while sleep attacks seem to be rare manifestations of the disease or its treatment. Significant EDS is found in 15% of patients with Parkinson’s disease compared with in 1% of healthy elderly people. Sleep attacks are observed in patients treated with all dopaminergic medications but have recently been brought to prominence because of their association with the newer dopamine agonists ropinirole and pramipexole. Patients with Parkinson’s disease should be informed about the possibility of developing sleep problems during the day when prescribed new drugs. Appropriate actions with regard to driving must be taken if significant and persistent daytime somnolence or sleep attacks appear.

Quality of life measurements in patients with Parkinson's disease: A community-based study

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the health‐related quality of life in a community‐based population of patients with Parkinsons disease (PD). The PD population consisted of 233 patients and was derived from a wider prevalence study in the county of Rogaland, Norway. The quality of life was measured by the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and four general health and well‐being questions. The results were compared with quality of life measurements in 100 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and 100 healthy elderly people. The control groups had the same age and sex distribution as the patients with PD. This study showed that PD has a substantial impact on the health‐related quality of life. Patients with PD had higher distress scores in all measured dimensions of the NHP than the two control groups. The negative impact of PD was highest for physical mobility, emotional reactions, social isolation and energy. Correlation analysis of the quality of life showed that age, duration of levodopa therapy, higher levodopa doses, depression, cognitive impairment and more advanced disease correlated with higher distress scores in patients with PD. The results of this study showed that PD had a broad impact on well‐being, more so than DM. The distress related to the severity of the disease, as well as to depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment. An important finding was the underestimated distress related to lack of energy.

Clinical problems in non-fluctuating patients with Parkinson's disease : A community-based study

To investigate the frequency of non‐fluctuators in a community‐based prevalence study of Parkinsons disease (PD) and to describe disability, non‐motor problems, and health‐related quality of life in patients with PD with and without motor fluctuations, and compare the findings to those of two control groups.

Patient Characteristics, MRI Examination, and Dopaminergic Drug Response in Clinical Possible Parkinson's Disease

Patients with parkinsonism can be classified as clinical definite, probable, possible, or unlikely Parkinsons disease (PD). Possible PD includes patients with PD according to conventional diagnostic criteria and with at least a moderate response to dopamine agonists. However, these patients have clinical features that may reduce the probability for idiopathic PD. The objective of this study was to clinically characterize patients with possible disease in a prevalence study of PD and to indicate the frequency of idiopathic PD in this group of patients. The diagnostic re-evaluation was based on detailed MRI examinations and investigations of dopaminergic drug response after several years of treatment. In a community-based prevalence study in Norway, comprising 245 PD patients, we found 36 patients (15%) with clinical possible PD. The patients with possible disease had significant and clinically important differences in demographic and disease characteristics compared to patients with definite and probable PD. Possible PD patients were older at disease onset, more disabled, and had more neurobehavioral disorders. MRI examinations of 14 of the 36 patients with possible PD in the prevalence study revealed significant group effects compared to an age-matched control group, with reduced pars compacta width and increased cortical atrophy. In individual patients, signal attenuation consistent with vascular lesions of the basal ganglia contributed to diagnostic reclassification. Dopaminergic drug withdrawal revealed no response in 4 of 12 examined patients. Two of the remaining eight patients had a clear short-duration drug response. Six patients had only a varying degree of long-duration response. The re-evaluation of diagnosis indicates that probably less than half of the patients with clinical possible PD have idiopathic disease. Patients with atypical features and diagnosed as possible PD should thus be excluded from studies with a presumed high specificity for idiopathic PD.