Dyskinesias Correlate with Decreased Mental Health and Increase Health Costs (PD Congress 2001)

[Hans van der Genugten <genugten@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

E-MOVE reports from the 14th International Congress on Parkinson's
Disease, Helsinki July 28-Aug 1. Poster and Platform session numbers refer
to those in the abstract book, published in Parkinsonism and Related
Disorders 2001;7(Supplement).

The clinical importance of dyskinesia
C Clarke

Dyskinesias have a significant impact on quality of life and health care
costs, according to data presented in a symposium by Dr. Carl Clarke.

Three hundred twenty-one patients spanning a range of disease severity
were evaluated over six months for dyskinesias via UPDRS part 4a and the
Goetz Scale. Other measures used included SF-36 for health parameters,
MADRAS for depression, and patient diaries for health care visits and
expenditures.

Increased dyskinesias were highly significantly correlated with decreased
health on SF-36, with the major effect on mental health. Correlation,
which was calculated after controlling for motor fluctuations and disease
deterioration, was more significant for UPDRS score than for Goetz score.
Similar correlation was found for dyskinesias versus MADRAS score,
potentially indicating an important role for dyskinesias in aggravating
reactive depression. Costs for the most severely dyskinetic patients were
doubled compared to patients without dyskinesias, from approximately
$3000/year to $6000/year.

Clarke suggested these results may provide an economic rationale for
treatments that delay onset of dyskinesias.

Supported by Glaxo SmithKline.

---
Funding for E-MOVE meeting reports is provided in part by unrestricted
educational grants from Allergan Inc., Elan Pharmaceuticals, and Pharmacia
Corporation.

Copyright 2000 WE MOVE
Editor: Richard Robinson (rrobinson@xxxxxxxxxx)

This service is provided free of charge to the Internet community,
courtesy of WEMOVE.org. This document may be freely redistributed by
email only in its unedited form. We encourage you to share it with your
colleagues.

E-MOVE archives, plus information on subscribing, are
available at .
To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxx,
with "unsubscribe e-move" in the message body.

E-MOVE is a service of WE MOVE (Worldwide Education and Awareness for
Movement Disorders)
204 West 84th Street
New York, NY 10024

TEL 800-437-MOV2
TEL 212-875-8312
FAX 212-875-8389


----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn