Objective: To determine the differences in the age of onset of clinical manifestations and rate of progression of Parkinson’s disease in different regions of Tajikistan.

Background: Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, the prevalence of which increases with age. In particular, data on the prevalence, clinical features, geographical distribution and the influence of climatic factors on the development and course of the disease in Tajikistan are not available, which justifies the need for this study.

Method: The study was conducted on the basis of the Republican Neurological Centre. The study involved 43 patients with diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. The average age of the patients was 55-75 years (± 2.5 years).

Results: Among the 43 patients, 27 (62.8%) were from urban areas and 16 (37.2%) from rural areas, of whom 7 (16.3%) lived in the highlands. An analysis of anamnestic data showed that the debut of the disease in patients from highland areas occurred on average 2.5-3 years later compared to other regions. However, age of onset and lateralisation of symptoms were not significantly different between the groups.Clinical analysis revealed that patients from high altitude areas had more severe non-motor symptoms, in particular depression and anxiety disorders. At the same time, the severity of motor manifestations on the Henna-Yar scale was less significant compared to the other groups, despite the same duration of the disease. However, among motor manifestations, stiffness was predominant in this group of patients, while tremor and postural instability were less pronounced.

Conclusion: The obtained data indicate a possible influence of environmental factors, such as the altitude of residence, on the clinical manifestations and course of Parkinson’s disease, which requires further study.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-manifestations-and-rate-of-progression-of-parkinsons-disease-in-different-regions/