The Effect of L-dopa on Postural Stability in Parkinson’s Disease Patients

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of L-dopa on postural stability in Parkinson’s disease patients. In the study, we examined a group of 13 patients, members of the Parkinson’s Association. The majority of subjects were women: 8 (61.538%), while 5 (38.462%) were men. These were patients with advanced, idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. The study was performed at the Posturology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UJK, Kielce (Poland). The duration of the illness was longer than 5 years. The daily L-dopa dose was between 600 and 1000 mg/d. Patients were tested for postural stability prior to taking the morning dose and again, 1 h after the 200-mg dose (Madopar 250 Tablets). The Biodex Balance System was applied in order to perform Postural Stability Testing. No statistically significant differences were found for the distribution of postural stability results before or after L-dopa administration. Nonetheless, it should be noted that all variables in the Postural Stability Test were slightly improved following L-dopa administration. The highest percentage (% Time in Zone) was noted in Zone A (the best), before (85.77%) and after L-dopa administration (95.23%). The highest % Time in Quadrant was in Quadrant IV (right posterior) both before (41.43%) and after L-dopa administration (49.54%). When comparing the distribution of postural stability variables before and after L-dopa administration, there were no significant differences between women and men.

Exercise Intolerance and Oxygen Desaturation in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: Triggers for Respiratory Rehabilitation?

“…Another strength of the study is that n = 55 could be considered a relatively good number of patients with a high number of neurological and respiratory measurements at the same time. All participants, with different disease severity, were well characterized, and all were receiving optimal medical management, especially regarding postural stability [ 53 ].…”

Predicting the Severity of Parkinson’s Disease Dementia by Assessing the Neuropsychiatric Symptoms with an SVM Regression Model

“…Dementia is a common symptom of patients with PD: As PD progresses, seven out of 10 patients with PD suffer from dementia [ 1 , 2 ]. Moreover, compared to PD without dementia, patients with it have a lower survival rate, a higher risk of experiencing depression [ 3 ], and are less responsive to treatment with levodopa (L-DOPA) [ 4 ]. Since patients with PDD are more susceptible to the side effects of drugs and their functions deteriorate faster than those with PD without dementia, they require a specialist medical attention [ 5 ].…”

“…Second, it is difficult to distinguish whether hallucinations or delusions, the main symptom of dementia, are due to the side effects from the drug being administered or the symptoms of PDD. Third, it is difficult to diagnose PDD in the early stages since patients with PD can have autonomic disturbances, emotional disorders, and/or cognitive impairment [ 4 ]. Therefore, selecting a highly sensitive screening test that can accurately discriminate PDD-induced cognitive decline is an important issue that medical professionals are interested in [ 7 ].…”

Receptor Ligands as Helping Hands to L-DOPA in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

“…Although its etiology has not been determined so far, the main pathological characteristic is the decrease of the dopamine (DA) level due to the degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta [1,2]. This leads to motor (i.e., postural instability, dyskinesias, tremor, and rigidity) and non-motor (i.e., depression, cognitive impairment, pain, hallucinations) symptoms [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Another pathologically severe aspect is the abnormal formation of protein aggregates inside nerve cells (Lewy bodies), whose primary structural component is the presynaptic neuronal protein α-synuclein.…”