Objective: In this study, we wish to determine whether medication changes play a major role in the improvements observed after in-patient multimodal intensive neurorehabilitation and care (iMINC).
Background: We have previously shown that patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) improve motor and non-motor performance following two-week iMINC, a program that encompasses five hours/day for five days/week of multimodal rehabilitation, as well as drug adjustments based on patients’ observation.
Method: We compared the scores of UPDRS Total and Part III, Beck’s Depression Inventory-II (BDI), PDQ-39, Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS), and Vocal Volume before and after two weeks of iMINC in two groups of patients with moderate to advanced PD (H&Y Stage 3-4), a group that did not have any drug adjustment (PD no drug adjustment, PDnda, 38 patients) and another group that underwent drug changes (PD with drug adjustment, PDda, 93 patients). Scores of all tests were compared with mixed model ANOVAs (within subject: iMINC -before, after; between subject: PDda, PDnda), We found that at the end of iMINC, all measured outcomes significantly improved in both groups independently of therapy changes
Results: We found that at the end of i-MINC, all measured outcomes significantly improved in both groups independently of therapy optimization (See Table 1).
Conclusion: We conclude that pharmacological adjustment plays a secondary role in driving the improvement of motor and non-motor outcome scores following iMINC. This finding suggests that this comprehensive in-patient approach can improve Parkinsonian symptoms, although it is plausible that proper medication status may enhance the positive effects of iMINC. This however could only be addressed through longitudinal follow-up studies future studies addressing both the medication adjustment effect and the carry-on effect of i-MINC over time.
Table 1
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
N. Elayan, L. Rubin, M. Mccrossin, C. Roberts, H. Shakil, A. Di Rocco, M. Ghilardi. Inpatient Multimodal Intensive Care in Moderately Advanced Parkinson’s Disease: Role Of Medication Adjustment In Outcome Measures [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2025; 40 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/inpatient-multimodal-intensive-care-in-moderately-advanced-parkinsons-disease-role-of-medication-adjustment-in-outcome-measures/. Accessed November 20, 2025.« Back to 2025 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/inpatient-multimodal-intensive-care-in-moderately-advanced-parkinsons-disease-role-of-medication-adjustment-in-outcome-measures/