Background: Sexual dysfunction (SD) is one of the least studied non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Objectives: To assess sexual function in a cohort of patients with early-onset PD (EOPD) and compare it to a group of healthy controls. Methods: In this cross-sectional multicenter study, SD was assessed with gender-specific multi-dimensional self-reported questionnaires: The Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory (BSFI-M) and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Scores between patients and controls were compared and associations between SD and demographical and clinical variables were studied. Results: One hundred and five patients (mean age 47.35±7.8, disease duration 6 (3–11) years, UPDRS part III 17 (10–23) and 90 controls were recruited. The BSFI-M total score was lower in EOPD men than in controls, and specific items were also significantly lower, such as drive, erections, ejaculation, and satisfaction. EOPD women had lower scores than controls in total FSFI, and certain domains such as lubrication and pain. SD was present in 70.2% of patients and 52.5% of controls. Sexual satisfaction in 35.2% of patients and 81.2% of controls. By gender, male and female patients had more SD than controls but only male patients had more dissatisfaction than controls. Gender, higher depression scores and urinary dysfunction were associated with SD in multivariate analysis; and gender, UPDRS and urinary dysfunction with sexual satisfaction Conclusion: In this Spanish cohort, SD and sexual dissatisfaction was more prevalent in EOPD patients than in the general population. Gender and urinary disfunction were associated with SD and sexual dissatisfaction.

These data confirm the long-term efficacy and safety of Dysport in CD over a period of up to 17 years.

To date, no pharmacological agent has convincingly demonstrated the ability to slow the progression of Parkinson disease (PD). The development of treatments that slow down the progressive degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system (true neuroprotection), which is ultimately responsible for the patients' functional decline, has become one of the basic goals of PD research. In this review, we have attempted to analyze the role of different methods that measure PD severity (basically, clinical scales, timed tests, and neuroimaging techniques) in the evaluation of the "neuroprotection" provided by different types of treatment for the disease, on the basis of clinical evidence.