Objective: to describe possibly specific clinical phenotype of PD patients who suffered from long-term postraumatic-stress-disorders (PTSD

Background: There is enough evidence about the relationship between PTSD and PD. Emotionala and physical stress, and duration of PTSD have been connected to risk of PD. Extreme manifestation of PTSD can create an environment of oxidative stress and consequent accelerated neurodegeneration. However, the causal connection and specificities of the clinical presentation of PTSD patients are still unclear.

Method: we retrospectively analyzed a group of newly diagnosed patients with PD between 2011-2022 to select patients who suffered from long-term PTSD.

Results: out of a total of 222 PD subjects, we identified 4 cases early-onset PD (mean age 46, range 43-49) in which PTSD preceded the onset of PD by more than 20 years (mean 23.5 yrs, range 21-26 yrs). Additionally, each of the 4 mentioned cases delayed the start of treatment for PTSD for many years (mean 19.5 yrs, range 6-26 yrs). All cases have manifested similar and specific symptoms of PD including severe and rapidly progressing symptoms of the hypokinetic-rigid form of PD, poorly responding to antiparkinsonian drug therapy, but without associated conspicuous cognitive impairment even in an advanced stage of the PD.

Conclusion: our data confirm the results of previous studies linking PD with PTSD. Considering the specificity of the clinical phenotype, our patients could represent a separate clinical entity of PD-PTSD. Our data support previous studies, but a significantly larger sample is needed to prove these assumptions.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/specific-parkinsons-disease-phenotype-in-patients-with-long-term-ptsp/