Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1997 May;12(3):277-84.
doi: 10.1002/mds.870120303.

Clinical and pharmacological differences in early- versus late-onset Parkinson's disease

G Gomez Arevalo  1 , R Jorge, S Garcia, O Scipioni, O Gershanik
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Clinical and pharmacological differences in early- versus late-onset Parkinson's disease

G Gomez Arevalo et al. Mov Disord. 1997 May.

Abstract

We evaluated whether patients with early-onset Parkinson's disease (EOPD) have a different clinical profile and pharmacological response than those with late-onset disease (LOPD). We performed a retrospective analysis and an acute pharmacological challenge with L-Dopa in 34 EOPD (age at onset between 21 and 40 years) and 34 LOPD (onset after age 60) patients. All patients completed a structured questionnaire cross-checked against medical record charts and underwent an acute levodopa test. Most significant differences were in the mode of onset, time of diagnosis, and degree of initial improvement. We did not observe differences with regard to motor fluctuations. The acute levodopa test showed no differences in latency to response onset between groups. However, the magnitude of the response was greater and the duration shorter in EOPD patients. Younger patients had greater reductions in bradykinesia scores, whereas posture/gait symptomatology was less responsive in older patients. The type and severity of dyskinesias also differed significantly between groups. Our findings suggest that central pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and possibly, nondopaminergic systems play a role in the age-related differences observed in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources