Category: Parkinsonism, Atypical: MSA
Objective: To discover whether having probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) affects prevalence of particular autonomic symptoms, namely falls, constipation and urinary incontinence in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA).
Background: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is an atypical parkinsonian syndrome with autonomic dysfunction as an essential part of clinical presentation. RBD is a REM parasomnia involving behavior of dream enactment is highly prevalent in MSA and is a marker of alpha-synucleinopathy.
Method: MSA was diagnosed according to international diagnostic criteria and enrolled from a specialized tertiary movement disorders clinic. Based on our clinical interviews the cohort was divided into two groups depending upon the presence or absence of probable RBD. The prevalence of falls, constipation and urinary incontinence was compared between the groups. The Pearson’s Chi-Square test was utilized for statistical analysis.
Results: A total of 30 MSA patients were interviewed for this study, with mean age of 61.56±6.87 (45-73), females – 73.33% and mean disease duration of 2.6 ±1.29 years (0.17-5). The prevalence for probable RBD was 24 (80%). The overall prevalence of falls, constipation and urinary incontinence were 16 (55.17%), 17 (56.67%) and 19 (63.33%) respectively. However, the prevalence of the same symptoms in the parallel to having probable RBD were 93.75%, 94.12%, 94.74% respectively (p<0.05 for all).
Conclusion: Our study highlighted a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of falls, constipation and urinary incontinence among MSA patients with probable RBD. Specifically, MSA patients without RBD had the best profile in terms of the other symptoms, with increasing prevalence in all three of falls, constipations and urinary incontinence when RBD was present. Further research is needed to corroborate our findings.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
H. Karkourian, L. Atabekyan, N. Nadryan, E. Balian, A. Grigoryan, S. Khachatryan, Z. Tavadyan. Prevalence of autonomic symptoms in Multiple System Atrophy on the background of probable RBD [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2024; 39 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-of-autonomic-symptoms-in-multiple-system-atrophy-on-the-background-of-probable-rbd/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to 2024 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-of-autonomic-symptoms-in-multiple-system-atrophy-on-the-background-of-probable-rbd/