Objective: This study was done to find the clinical correlates with quantitative autonomic testing in Parkinson’s disease.

Background: Autonomic dysfunction is common and causes variety of disabling symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Quantitative autonomic testing (QAT) can evaluate autonomic dysfunction in PD, but its correlation with other motor and non-motor characteristics of PD is not known yet.

Method: Total 104 patients (age 66.2±9.6 years, 63 males, Hoehn and Yahr stage 2.1±0.5) with PD were consecutively recruited and underwent comprehensive examination for motor and non-motor characteristics of PD. Composite autonomic severity score (CASS) and its subscore from QAT were analyzed for the association with those clinical characteristics of PD.

Results: Based on CASS, patients were divided to mild, moderate, and severe groups. Severe group showed older age, lower cognition, and higher gastrointestinal (GI) score of non-motor symptom scale (NMSS). GI, urinary, and cardiovascular (CV) scores of autonomic dysfunction questionnaire (ADQ) were higher in severe group compared to those of others. The CASS was correlated with age, cognition, UPDRS part II, fatigue, NMSS total score, and all components of ADQ. Sudomotor subscore was correlated with gender, UPDRS part III, attention and memory score of NMSS, and NMSS total score. Cardiovagal subscore was correlated with age, gender, UPDRS part I, GI and sexual scores of ADQ, and GI score of NMSS. Age, cognition, mean tremor score, and GI, CV, and total scores of ADQ correlated to adrenergic subscore of CASS. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that CASS correlated to ADQ GI score, sudomotor to attention and memory score of NMSS, cardiovagal to ADQ GI, and adrenergic to age and ADQ GI score.

Conclusion: Age, cognition, and gender of patients were associated with the results of quantitative autonomic testing in PD. Those results also correlated well with dysautonomic symptoms of patients, especially gastrointestinal symptoms.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/quantitative-autonomic-testing-in-parkinsons-disease/