BACKGROUND Motor impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) can be evaluated with the Short Parkinson's Evaluation Scale/Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's disease (SPES/SCOPA) and the Movement... Show moreBACKGROUND Motor impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) can be evaluated with the Short Parkinson's Evaluation Scale/Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's disease (SPES/SCOPA) and the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). The aim of this study was to determine equation models for the conversion of scores from one scale to the other. METHODS 148 PD patients were evaluated with the SPES/SCOPA-motor and the MDS-UPDRS motor examination. Linear regression was used to develop equation models. RESULTS Scores on both scales were highly correlated (r = 0.88). Linear regression revealed the following equation models (explained variance: 78%): CONCLUSION With the equation models identified in this study, scores from SPES/SCOPA-motor can be converted to scores from MDS-UPDRS motor examination and vice versa. Show less
Verbaan, D.; Jeukens-Visser, M.; Laar, T. van; Rooden, S.M. van; Zwet, E.W. van; Marinus, J.; Hilten, J.J. van 2011
The SCOPA-Cognition is a reliable and valid test to evaluate cognitive functioning in Parkinson's disease and is widely used in clinical and research settings. Recently, the Movement Disorder... Show moreThe SCOPA-Cognition is a reliable and valid test to evaluate cognitive functioning in Parkinson's disease and is widely used in clinical and research settings. Recently, the Movement Disorder Society introduced criteria for Parkinson's disease dementia. The objective of the present study was to use these criteria to determine SCOPA-Cognition cutoffs for maximum accuracy, screening, and diagnosing of Parkinson's disease dementia. A total of 282 patients with Parkinson's disease were assessed with the SCOPA-Cognition and the Movement Disorder Society's Parkinson's disease dementia criteria. From the 275 patients with a complete assessment of the dementia criteria, 12% (n = 32) fulfilled the criteria. Data from 268 patients with complete assessments of both the dementia criteria and the SCOPA-Cognition were used to determine cutoffs for maximum accuracy, screening, and diagnosing of Parkinson's disease dementia. The area under the curve was 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.85-0.97), showing a strong association between the dementia criteria and the SCOPA-Cognition. The cutoff for maximum accuracy was 22/23, based on the highest sum of sensitivity (0.80) and specificity (0.87), with positive and negative predictive values of 0.43 and 0.97, respectively. The optimal screening cutoff was 24/25, and the optimal diagnostic cutoff was 17/18. Using the recently published Parkinson's disease dementia criteria as a reference, the current study presents SCOPA-Cognition cutoffs for maximum accuracy, screening, and diagnosing of Parkinson's disease dementia. The availability of SCOPA-Cognition cutoffs for Parkinson's disease dementia may contribute to the scale's usefulness and promote its further use in both clinical and research settings. Show less
Rooden, S.M. van; Colas, F.; Martinez-Martin, P.; Visser, M.; Verbaan, D.; Marinus, J.; ... ; Hilten, J.J. van 2011
Parkinson's disease (PD) and restless legs syndrome (RLS) have a dopaminergic link. More insight in the clinical profile of RLS in patients with PD may benefit our understanding of this link. The... Show moreParkinson's disease (PD) and restless legs syndrome (RLS) have a dopaminergic link. More insight in the clinical profile of RLS in patients with PD may benefit our understanding of this link. The aims of this study were to evaluate the frequency and clinical profile of RLS in a large cohort of PD patients. In 269 nondemented Caucasian PD patients, the four diagnostic criteria for RLS were administered by a RLS trained researcher. In patients with definite RLS, the severity of these symptoms was assessed. Furthermore, in all patients, relevant motor and nonmotor symptoms in PD were evaluated. Definite RLS was present in 11% of the patients. RLS patients were more often female (69% vs. 32%, P < 0.001), but no other significant differences existed between PD patients with and without RLS. Within the PD patients with RLS, severity of RLS correlated positively with PD severity, motor fluctuations, depressive symptoms, daytime sleepiness, cognitive problems, autonomic symptoms, and psychotic symptoms. This study in a large PD cohort shows that prevalence of RLS is similar to that in the general population, which might be caused by underestimation of RLS due to dopaminergic treatment. No relations were found between the presence of RLS and PD symptoms, but the severity of RLS was related to the severity of PD-related, mainly nondopaminergic, symptoms. It is hypothesized that, nondopaminergic systems, such as the noradrenergic system may play a role in the possible link between PD and RLS. (C) 2010 Movement Disorder Society Show less
The clinical variability between patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) may point at the existence of subtypes of the disease. Identification of subtypes is important, since a focus on homogeneous... Show moreThe clinical variability between patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) may point at the existence of subtypes of the disease. Identification of subtypes is important, since a focus on homogeneous groups may enhance the chance of success of research on mechanisms of disease and may also lead to tailored treatment strategies. Cluster analysis (CA) is an objective method to classify patients into subtypes. We systematically reviewed the methodology and results of CA studies in PD to gain a better understanding of the robustness of identified subtypes. We found seven studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Studies were limited by incomplete reporting and methodological limitations. Differences between studies rendered comparisons of the results difficult. However, it appeared that studies which applied a comparable design identified similar subtypes. The cluster profiles "old age-at-onset and rapid disease progression" and "young age-at-onset and slow disease progression" emerged from the majority of studies. Other cluster profiles were less consistent across studies. Future studies with a rigorous study design that is standardized with respect to the included variables, data processing, and CA technique may advance the knowledge on subtypes in PD. (C) 2010 Movement Disorder Society Show less
The thesis “Non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease” is part of the PROPARK study, a longitudinal cohort study of approximately 400 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), who are profiled on... Show moreThe thesis “Non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease” is part of the PROPARK study, a longitudinal cohort study of approximately 400 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), who are profiled on genotype, phenotype, disability, and global outcomes of health, using valid and reliable assessment instruments for PD. The aims of this thesis were to characterize the non-motor domains important in PD such as olfactory, autonomic, sleep, cognitive, and psychiatric problems. Additionally, their relations with other domains of the disease were evaluated on a cross-sectional level, as well as their impact on disability and health-related quality of life. Furthermore, the phenotypic characteristics of mutation carriers in the cohort were evaluated. The most important conclusions from this thesis are: 1. Non-motor symptoms are frequently present in patients with PD 2. Non-motor symptoms are related to each other 3. Non-motor symptoms greatly influence quality of life in patients with PD The results as described in this thesis will serve as guideline for future research which will be aimed at underlying disease mechanisms. Show less
