Pain is common in Parkinson's disease

Objective and background: Patients with Parkinson's disease may present with severe or intractable pain, which can be more distressing than the motor disability. The aim of this prospective study was to assess the prevalence of pain and underlying causes in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease

Differences between essential tremor developing Parkinson's disease and essential tremor Parkinson hastalıǧı gelişltiren esansiyel tremor ile esansiyel tremor arasındaki farklılıklar

Objective: Essential tremor (ET) is the most prevalent extrapyramidal disorder and some ET patients may later develop Parkinson's disease (PD). However, up to date, precise association was not determined. To understand the relationship between ET and PD, we investigated differences between patients with ET and ET developing PD (ETPD) in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: One hundred forty-four patients with ET and 336 PD patients were retrospectively assessed from their clinical charts, and their current age, gender, onset age of ET, family history of ET, asymmetrical or symmetrical tremor and history of REM-Sleep Behavior Disorders (REM-SBD) were recorded. Results: Thirty-three patients who had ET prior to PD were evaluated as ETPD patients based on previous clinical records. The mean duration from ET to PD was 12±11.4 years (range: 1-47). There was no difference in gender between the groups. The mean age, the mean age at ET onset, asymmetrical tremor and REM-SBD history were significantly lower in ET patients compared to ETPD patients. The family history of ET and head tremor was more frequent in ET patients than in ETPD. Conclusions: Our results point out that some patients with ET, having asymmetrical tremor, late onset and REM-SBD history may develop PD. © Archives of Neuropsychiatry

The Impact of Familial Structure on Parkinson's Disease in Istanbul Medical School, Turkey

The prevalence and family structure of idiopathic Parkinson disease (iPD) in Turkey is not known. Patients with iPD were recruited consecutively at the Medical School of Istanbul University over an 18-month period. Clinical details were assessed with standardized forms. Of the 219 iPD patients, 136 had sporadic iPD [26 with parental consanguinity (cs)], 20 autosomal recessive PD (9 with cs) and 63 autosomal dominant or pseudo-dominant inheritances (20 with cs). Age at onset was 49.1 +/- 17.1 years (range 3-83) and age at examination 56.4 +/- 16.5 years (range 4-93). Ages at examination and at clinical onset of PD were significantly greater in sporadic iPD than in familial iPD patients, but disease duration was similar. Patients with familial PD had significantly lower basal UPDRS III and Hoehn and Yahr scores than sporadic PD patients and brisk reflexes in the lower limbs were significantly more frequent, but they suffered less from mictional problems. The frequency of familial PD and consanguinity in Turkey is higher and age at onset of iPD earlier than in Western countries. Molecular diagnoses and genetic counseling will therefore have a very important impact on the medical, psychological, and familial handling of PD in Turkey