Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) in Drug-Naïve Patients with Parkinson's Disease

TY - JOUR

T1 - Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) in Drug-Naïve Patients with Parkinson's Disease

AU - Fründt, Odette

AU - Grashorn, Wiebke

AU - Buhmann, Carsten

AU - Forkmann, Katarina

AU - Mainka, Tina

AU - Bingel, Ulrike

AU - Schmidt, Katharina

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - BACKGROUND: Pain is highly prevalent in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), but underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are largely unclear. Alterations in somatosensory processing might contribute to sensory abnormalities in PD.OBJECTIVE: This study investigated sensory processing in PD patients.METHODS: We used the standardized "Quantitative Sensory Testing" (QST) protocol (German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain) to investigate 13 somatosensory parameters in 19 PD patients naïve to dopaminergic medication and 19 healthy controls matched for age, gender and handedness. We tested for differences in sensory parameters between i) drug-naïve PD patients and healthy controls, ii) patients' more and less affected body side, and iii) for an association of somatosensory parameters with disease-specific factors.RESULTS: We did not observe any significant group differences in somatosensory parameters between PD patients and healthy subjects. In PD patients, QST mean z-scores did not differ between the predominantly and the less affected body side, PD patients with and without PD-specific chronic pain or between different PD subtypes. Age, but not PD disease severity, was associated with a greater loss of function in thermal and mechanical detection thresholds.CONCLUSIONS: Somatosensory processing, as assessed with the well-established QST protocol, was normal in drug-naïve PD patients. Thus, somatosensory abnormalities previously reported in medicated PD patients might rather be a result of dopaminergic medication or may occur later in the course of the disease or with increasing age.

AB - BACKGROUND: Pain is highly prevalent in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), but underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are largely unclear. Alterations in somatosensory processing might contribute to sensory abnormalities in PD.OBJECTIVE: This study investigated sensory processing in PD patients.METHODS: We used the standardized "Quantitative Sensory Testing" (QST) protocol (German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain) to investigate 13 somatosensory parameters in 19 PD patients naïve to dopaminergic medication and 19 healthy controls matched for age, gender and handedness. We tested for differences in sensory parameters between i) drug-naïve PD patients and healthy controls, ii) patients' more and less affected body side, and iii) for an association of somatosensory parameters with disease-specific factors.RESULTS: We did not observe any significant group differences in somatosensory parameters between PD patients and healthy subjects. In PD patients, QST mean z-scores did not differ between the predominantly and the less affected body side, PD patients with and without PD-specific chronic pain or between different PD subtypes. Age, but not PD disease severity, was associated with a greater loss of function in thermal and mechanical detection thresholds.CONCLUSIONS: Somatosensory processing, as assessed with the well-established QST protocol, was normal in drug-naïve PD patients. Thus, somatosensory abnormalities previously reported in medicated PD patients might rather be a result of dopaminergic medication or may occur later in the course of the disease or with increasing age.

KW - Journal Article

U2 - 10.3233/JPD-181513

DO - 10.3233/JPD-181513

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 30829618

VL - 9

SP - 369

EP - 378

JO - J PARKINSON DIS

JF - J PARKINSON DIS

SN - 1877-7171

IS - 2

ER -