Affiliations: Department of Neurology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan | Autonomic and Neurovascular Medicine Unit, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK | Autonomic Unit, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK
Note: [] Correspondence to: Masato Asahina, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. Tel.: +81 43 226 2129; Fax: +81 43 226 2160; E-mail: asahina@faculty.chiba-u.jp
Abstract: Background: According to Braak staging of Parkinson's disease (PD), detection of autonomic dysfunction would help with early diagnosis of PD. Objective: To determine whether the autonomic nervous system is involved in the early stage of PD, we evaluated cardiovascular and sudomotor function in early untreated PD patients. Methods: Orthostatic blood pressure regulation, heart rate variability, skin vasomotor function, and palmar sympathetic sweat responses were examined in 50 early untreated PD patients and 20 healthy control subjects. Results: The mean decrease in systolic blood pressure during head-up tilt in PD patients was mildly but significantly larger than in controls (p = 0.0001). There were no differences between the 2 groups in heart rate variability, with analysis of low frequency (LF; mediated by baroreflex feedback), and high frequency (HF; mainly reflecting parasympathetic vagal) modulation. However, LF/HF, an index of sympatho-parasympathetic balance, was lower in the PD group than in controls (p = 0.02). Amplitudes of palmar sweat responses to deep inspiration (p = 0.004), mental arithmetic (p = 0.01), and exercise (p = 0.01) in PD patients were lower than in controls, with negative correlations with motor severity. Amplitudes of palmar skin vasomotor reflexes in PD patients did not differ from controls. Conclusions: Our study indicates impairment of sympathetic cardiovascular and sudomotor function with orthostatic dysregulation of blood pressure control, reduced LF/HF and reduction in palm sweat responses even in early untreated PD patients.
Keywords: Parkinson's disease, autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular system, sudomotor function
