MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS)
MDS-Sponsored Revision of the UPDRS to evaluate various aspects of Parkinson’s disease, including non-motor and motor experiences
Permission is required for each single use of the MDS Clinical Outcome Assessments.
The MDS-UPDRS is a revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) originally developed in the 1980s. It addresses several problematic areas of the original scale identified by an MDS review task force. The MDS-UPDRS was developed to evaluate various aspects of Parkinson’s disease including non-motor and motor experiences of daily living and motor complications. It includes a motor evaluation and characterizes the extent and burden of disease across various populations. The scale can be used in a clinical setting as well as in research.
Authors: Christopher G. Goetz, Barbara Tilley, Stephanie R. Shaftman, Glenn T. Stebbins, Stanley Fahn, Pablo Martinez-Martin, Werner Poewe, Cristina Sampaio, Matthew B. Stern, Richard Dodel, Bruno Dubois, Robert Holloway, Joseph Jankovic, Jaime Kulisevsky, Anthony E. Lang, Andrew Lees, Sue Leurgans, Peter A. LeWitt, David Nyenhuis, C. Warren Olanow, Olivier Rascol, Anette Schrag, Jeanne A. Teresi, Jacobus J. van Hilten, Nancy LaPelle
Original Publication │ View the Scale (PDF) Permission required for use
- Acronym: MDS-UPDRS
- Year Published: 2008
- Scale Last Updated: August 13, 2019
- Assessment Type: ClinRO and PRO
- Estimated Time to Complete: Under 30 minutes for full assessment (time for patient-reported outcomes may vary).
Available translations: 25+ languages
Eletronic builds: eScale (HTML), REDCap, Qualtrics
To request permission to use this Rating Scale, please fill out a Permission Request Form.
Certificate Program: Learn to administer the MDS-UPDRS »| Notice: As of August 13, 2019 an update was made to item 3.17 (Rest Tremor) of the MDS-UPDRS. Following review of the scale, it was determined that several inequality symbols in the “Extremity Ratings” and “Lip/Jaw Ratings” were changed to provide consistency with the scoring for items 3.15 and 3.16. The effects of these changes are felt to be nominal. Clinical trials and other studies using the original 3.17 scoring may continue to do so for the duration of the study. For questions, please contact ratingscales@movementdisorders.org. |
Translations
Available Translations:
In Progress:
The following translations have completed Cognitive Pre-testing. For more information about the Translation Program, please reference our Protocol for Official Non-English Language Translations. Please contact ratingscales@movementdisorders.org for more information.
- Armenian
- Danish
- Finnish
- Lithuanian
- Serbian
- Ukrainian
- Vietnamese
MDS acknowledges and thanks the translation Program Leaders and contributors for the development and ongoing support of translations.
Additional Scale Publications
View category: Clinimetrics | Clinical Use | Translation Program | Electronic Administration | COVID and Telemedicine | Hoehn and Yahr Scale | Teaching Program
Original Publication
Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS): Scale presentation and clinimetric testing results
Goetz CG, Tilley BC, Shaftman SR, Stebbins GT, Fahn S, Martinez-Martin P, Poewe W, Sampaio C, Stern MB, Dodel R, Dubois B, Holloway R, Jankovic J, Kulisevsky J, Lang AE, Lees A, Leurgans S, LeWitt PA, Nyenhuis D, Olanow CW, Rascol O, Schrag A, Teresi JA, van Hilten JJ, LaPelle N
November 2008
Movement Disorders, 23(15):2129-170
Clinimetrics
Increasing Sensitivity in Patient-Reported MDS-UPDRS Items for Predicting Medication Initiation in Early PD
Haotian Zou, Christopher G. Goetz, Glenn T. Stebbins, Tiago A. Mestre, Sheng Luo
October 2024
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice; Volume 12(2):121-3
Using Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Parts 2 and 3 Simultaneously: Combining the Patient Voice with Clinician Rating
Guo Y, Goetz CG, Stebbins GT, Mestre TA, Luo S
March 2023
Movement Disorders; Volume 38(3):453-463
It Is as It Was: MDS-UPDRS Part III Scores Cannot Be Combined with Other Parts to Give a Valid Sum
Christopher G. Goetz MD, Dongrak Choi MS, Yuanyuan Guo PhD, Glenn T. Stebbins PhD, Tiago A. Mestre MD, PhD, Sheng Luo PhD
December 2022
Movement Disorders
Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Motor Examination Retains Its 2-Domain Profile in Both On and Off States
Yuanyuan Guo , Glenn T Stebbins , Tiago A Mestre , Christopher G Goetz , Sheng Luo
September 2022
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice
Resolving Missing Data from the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale: Implications for Telemedicine.
Sheng Luo , Christopher G Goetz , Dongrak Choi , Sanket Aggarwal , Tiago A Mestre , Glenn T Stebbins
August 2022
Movement Disorders
Resolving Missing Data from the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale: Implications for Telemedicine
Sheng Luo PhD, Christopher G. Goetz MD, Dongrak Choi MS, Sanket Aggarwal MD, Tiago A. Mestre MD PhD, Glenn T. Stebbins PhD
June 2022
Movement Disorders, Volume 37(8);1749-55
Novel Approach to Movement Disorder Society–Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Monitoring in Clinical Trials: Longitudinal Item Response Theory Models
Luo S, Zou H, Goetz CG, Choi D, Oakes D, Simuni T, Stebbins GT
July 2021
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, Volume 8(7):1083-1091
Relationship between the MDS-UPDRS and Quality of Life: A large multicenter study of 3206 patients
Skorvanek M, Martinez-Martin P, Kovacs N, Zezula I, Rodriguez-Violante M, Corvol JC, Taba P, Seppi K, Levin O, Schrag A, Aviles-Olmos I, Alvarez-Sanchez M, Arakaki T, Aschermann Z, Benchetrit E, Benoit C, Bergareche-Yarza A, Cervantes-Arriaga A, Chade A, Cormier F, Datieva V, Gallagher DA, Garretto N, Gdovinova Z, Gershanik O, Grofik M, Han V, Kadastik-Eerme L, Kurtis MM, Mangone G, Martinez-Castrillo JC, Mendoza-Rodriguez A, Minar M, Moore HP, Muldmaa M, Mueller C, Pinter B, Poewe W, Rallmann K, Reiter E, Rodriguez-Blazquez C, Singer C, Valkovic P, Goetz CG, Stebbins GT
July 2018
Parkinsonism Relat Disord, Volume 52:83-89
Minimal clinically important differences for the experiences of daily living parts of Movement Disorder Society–Sponsored Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale
Horváth K, Aschermann Z, Kovács M, Makkos A, Harmat M, Janszky J, Komoly S, Karádi K, Kovács N.
May 2017
Movement Disorders, Volume 32(5):789-93
Gender-, age-, and race/ethnicity-based differential item functioning analysis of the movement disorder society–sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale
Goetz CG, Liu Y, Stebbins GT, Wang L, Tilley BC, Teresi JA, Merkitch D, Luo S.
November 2016
Movement Disorders, Volume 31(12):1865-73
Handling missing values in the MDS-UPDRS
Goetz CG, Luo S, Wang L, Tilley BC, LaPelle NR, Stebbins GT
October 2015
Movement Disorders, Volume 30(12):1632-1638
Is the MDS-UPDRS a good screening tool for detecting sleep problems and daytime sleepiness in Parkinson’s disease?
Horváth K, Aschermann Z, Ács P, Bosnyák E, Deli G, Pál E, Janszky J, Faludi B, Késmárki I, Komoly S, Bokor M.
January 2014
Parkinson’s Disease, volume 2014:1-8
Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS): process, format, and clinimetric testing plan
Goetz CG, Fahn S, Martinez-Martin P, Poewe W, Sampaio C, Stebbins GT, Stern MB, Tilley BC, Dodel R, Dubois B, Holloway R, et al.
January 2007
Movement Disorders, Volume 22(1):41-7
The MDS-UPDRS Part II (Motor Experiences of Daily Living) resulted useful for assessment of disability in Parkinson’s Disease.
Rodriguez-Blazquez C, Rojo-Abuin JM, Alvarez-Sanchez M, Arakaki T, Bergareche-Yarza A, Chade A, Garretto N, Gershanik O, Kurtis MM, Martinez-Castrillo JC, Mendoza-Rodriguez A, Moore HP, Rodriguez-Violante M, Singer C, Tilley BC, Huang J, Stebbins GT, Goetz CG, Martinez-Martin P.
October 2013
Parkinsonism Relat Disord, Volume 19(10):889-93.
Clinical Use
Embedding Patient Input in Outcome Measures for Long-Term Disease-Modifying Parkinson Disease Trials
Cristina Gonzalez-Robles MD, Michèle Bartlett MA, Matthew Burnell PhD, Caroline S. Clarke PhD, Shlomi Haar PhD, Michele T. Hu FRCP, PhD, Brook Huxford MSc, Ashwani Jha MD, PhD, Michael Lawton PhD, Alastair Noyce MRCP, PhD, Paola Piccini MD, PhD, Kuhan Pushparatnam BSc, Lynn Rochester PhD, Carroll Siu MA, MSc, Daniel van Wamelen MD, PhD, Caroline H. Williams-Gray MRCP, PhD, Marie-Louise Zeissler PhD, Henrik Zetterberg MD, PhD, Camille B. Carroll MRCP, PhD, Thomas Foltynie MRCP, PhD, Rimona S. Weil MRCP, PhD, Anette Schrag FRCP, PhD, on behalf of the EJS ACT-PD Consortium
December 2023
Movement Disorders; Volume 39(2):433-38
Self-Report versus Clinician Examination in Early Parkinson's Disease.
Zolfaghari S, Thomann AE, Lewandowski N, Trundell D, Lipsmeier F, Pagano G, Taylor KI, Postuma RB.
December 2021
Movement Disorders, Volume 37(3):585-97
Are the MDS-UPDRS–Based Composite Scores Clinically Applicable?
Makkos A, Kovács M, Aschermann Z, Harmat M, Janszky J, Karádi K, Kovács N.
May 2018
Movement Disorders, Volume 33(5):835-9.
Measuring Parkinson's disease over time: The real-world within-subject reliability of the MDS-UPDRS
Evers LJ, Krijthe JH, Meinders MJ, Bloem BR, Heskes TM
July 2019
Movement Disorders, Voluem 34(10): 1480-87
Lille apathy rating scale and MDS-UPDRS for screening apathy in Parkinson’s disease.
Weintraut R, Karádi K, Lucza T, Kovács M, Makkos A, Janszky J, Kovács N.
January 2016
Journal of Parkinson's Disease, Volume 6(1):257-65.
Assessing the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease: MDS-UPDRS and NMS Scale.
Martinez-Martin P, Chaudhuri RK, Rojo-Abuin JM, Rodriguez-Blazquez C, Alvarez-Sanchez M, Arakaki T, Bergareche A, Chade A, Garretto N, Gershanik O, Kurtis M, Martinez-Castrillo J, Mendoza-Rodriguez A, Moore H, Rodriguez-Violante M, Singer C, Tilley BC, Huang J, Stebbins GT, Goetz CG.
April 2015
European Journal of Neurology, Volume 22(1): 37-43
Relationship between the MDS-UPDRS domains and the health-related quality of life of Parkinson’s disease patients.
Mendoza-Rodríguez A, Moore HP, Rodríguez-Violante M, Singer C, Tilley BC, Huang J, Stebbins GT, Goetz CG.
March 2014
European Journal of Neurology, Volume 21(3):519-24
How to identify tremor dominant and postural instability/gait difficulty groups with the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale: Comparison with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale.
Stebbins GT, Goetz CG, Burn DJ, Jankovic J, Khoo TK, Tilley BC.
May 2013
Movement Disorders, Volume 28(5):668-70.
Translation Program
Validation of the Portuguese MDS-UPDRS: Challenges to Obtain a Scale Applicable to Different Linguistic Cultures
Tiago Soares MS, Thiago Cardoso Vale MD, PhD, Leonor Correia Guedes MD, PhD, Ricardo Oliveira Maciel MD, MSc, Ana Patrícia Antunes MD, Sarah Camargos MD, PhD, Anabela Valadas MD, Miguel Coelho MD, PhD, Catarina Godinho PhD, Débora Maia MD, Patrícia Lobo MD, Raphael Maia MD, Tiago Teodoro MD, Carlos Rieder MD, PhD, Ana Graça Velon MD, Maria José Rosas MD, Ana Calado MD, Verónica Caniça MS, José Vale MD, Alexandre Mendes MD, PhD, Ana Margarida Rodrigues MD, Maria Manuela Costa MD, Tânia Lampreia MD, Henrique B. Ferraz MD, PhD, Vitor Tumas MD, PhD, Egberto Barbosa MD, PhD, Glenn T. Stebbins PhD, Barbara C. Tilley PhD, Sheng Luo PhD, Nancy R. LaPelle PhD, Christopher G. Goetz MD, Francisco Cardoso MD, PhD, Joaquim J. Ferreira MD, PhD, MDS-UPDRS Portuguese Validation Study Group
October 2024
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice
Validation of the Arabic Version of the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale
Hanan Khalil, Zakiyah F. Aldaajani, Mayis Aldughmi, Alham Al-Sharman, Tareq Mohammad, Raja Mehanna, Shaimaa I. El-Jaafary, Ahmed Dahshan, Mouna Ben Djebara, Walaa A. Kamel, Hanan A. Amer, Mohammed Farghal, Fatema Abdulla, Nouf Al-Talai, Muneer Abu Snineh, Nouha Farhat, Fatima A. Jamali, Rawan K. Matar, Heba S. Abdelraheem, Nesma A.M. Ghonimi, Mishal Abu Al-Melh, Sonia Elbhrawy, Majid S. Alotaibi, Shaimaa A. Elaidy, Shahad A. Almuammar, Jasem Y. Al-Hashel, Riadh Gouider, Hatem Samir, Chokri Mhiri, Matej Skorvanek, Jeffrey Lin, Pablo Martinez-Martin, Glenn T. Stebbins, Sheng Luo, Christopher G. Goetz, Jawad A. Bajwa
February 2022
Movement Disorders, Volume 37(4):826-41
Validation Study of the Official Korean Version of the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale
Jinse Park, Seong-Beom Koh, Kyum-Yil Kwon, Sang Jin Kim, Jae Woo Kim, Joong-Seok Kim, Kun-Woo Park, Jong Sam Paik, Young H. Sohn, Jin-Young Ahn, Eungseok Oh, Jinyoung Youn, Ji-Young Lee, Phil Hyu Lee, Wooyoung Jang, Han-Joon Kim, Beom Seok Jeon, Sun Ju Chung, Jin Whan Cho, Sang-Myung Cheon, Suk Yun Kang, Mee Young Park, Seongho Park, Young Eun Huh, Seok Jae Kang, and Hee-Tae Kim
September 2020
Journal of Clinical Neurology, Volume 16(4):633–45
Validation of the Thai Version of the Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale
Priya Jagota, Prachaya Srivanitchapoom, Sitthi Petchrutchatachart, Surat Singmaneesakulchai, Apichart Pisarnpong, Praween Lolekha, Suwanna Setthawatcharawanich, Parnsiri Chairangsaris, Natlada Limotai, Pawut Mekawichai, Pattamon Panyakaew, Onanong Phokaewvarangkul, Jirada Sringean, Yuvadee Pitakpatapee, Nancy LaPelle, Pablo Martinez-Martin, Xuehan Ren, Sheng Luo, Glenn T. Stebbins, Christopher G. Goetz, Roongroj Bhidayasiri
March 2016
Journal of Movement Disorders, Volume 15(2):151-155
Using Cognitive Pretesting in Scale Development for Parkinson's Disease: The Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Example
Barbara C. Tilley, Nancy R. LaPelle, Christopher G. Goetz, and Glenn T. Stebbins on behalf of the MDS-UPDRS Task Force
August 2014
Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, Volume 4(3)
Validation of the Hungarian MDS-UPDRS: Why do we need a New Parkinson Scale
Horvath K, Aschermann Zsuzsanna, Acs P, Bosnyák E, Deli G, Pál E, Késmárki I, Horváth Réka, Takács K, Komoly S, Bokor M, Rigó E, Lajtos J, Klivényi P, Dibó G, Vécsei L, Takáts A, Tóth A, Imre P, Nagy F, Herceg M, Hidasi E, Kovács N
March 2014
Ideggyogyaszati Szemle, Volume 67(3-4):129-34
IPMDS-sponsored scale translation program: process, format, and clinimetric testing plan for the MDS-UPDRS and UDysRS.
Goetz CG, Stebbins GT, Wang L, LaPelle NR, Lou S, Tilley BC.
May 2014
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, Volume 1(2):97-101
Official Japanese Version of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society–Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale: Validation Against the Original English Version
Kenichi Kashihara, Tomoyoshi Kondo, Yoshikuni Mizuno, Seiji Kikuchi, Sadako Kuno, Kazuko Hasegawa, Nobutaka Hattori, Hideki Mochizuki, Hideo Mori, Miho Murata, Masahiro Nomoto, Ryosuke Takahashi, Atsushi Takeda, Yoshio Tsuboi, Yoshikazu Ugawa, Mitsutoshi Yamanmoto, Fusako Yokochi, Fumihito Yoshii, Glenn T. Stebbins, Barbara C. Tilley, Sheng Luo, Lu Wang, Nancy R. LaPelle, Christopher G. Goetz, MDS-UPDRS Japanese Validation Study Group
June 2014
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, Volume 1(3):200-12
Validation of the Italian version of the Movement Disorder Society—Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale
Angelo Antonini, Giovanni Abbruzzese, Luigi Ferini-Strambi, Barbara Tilley, Jing Huang, Glenn T. Stebbins, Christopher G. Goetz, Paolo Barone, MDS-UPDRS Italian Validation Study Group, Monica Bandettini di Poggio, Giovanni Fabbrini, Flavio Di Stasio, Michele Tinazzi, Tommaso Bovi, Silvia Ramat, Sara Meoni, Gianni Pezzoli, Margherita Canesi, Paolo Martinelli, Cesa Lorella Maria Scaglione, Aroldo Rossi, Nicola Tambasco, Gabriella Santangelo, Marina Picillo, Letterio Morgante, Francesca Morgante, Rocco Quatrale, MariaChiara Sensi, Manuela Pilleri, Roberta Biundo, Giampietro Nordera, Antonella Caria, Claudio Pacchetti, Roberta Zangaglia, Leonardo Lopiano, Maurizio Zibetti, Mario Zappia, Alessandra Nicoletti, Aldo Quattrone, Maria Salsone, Gianni Cossu, Daniela Murgia, Alberto AlbaneseFrancesca Del Sorbo
June 2012
Neurological Sciences, Volume 34:683–87
Expanded and independent validation of the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS).
Martinez-Martin P, Rodriguez-Blazquez C, Alvarez-Sanchez M, Arakaki T, Bergareche-Yarza A, Chade A, Garretto N, Gershanik O, Kurtis MM, Martinez-Castrillo JC, Mendoza-Rodriguez A, Moore HP, Rodriguez-Violante M, Singer C, Tilley BC, Huang J, Stebbins GT, Goetz CG.
August 2012
Journal of Neurology, Volume 260(1):228-36
Electronic Administration
Digital Administration of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Rating Scales
Mariana H.G. Monje , Rebecca L.M. Fuller, Esther Cubo, Tiago A. Mestre, Ai Huey Tan, Julie C. Stout, Shazia Ali, Lana Chahine, Kathy Dujardin ,Cheryl J. Fitzer-Attas ,Jinyoung Youn, Bastiaan R. Bloem, Fay B. Horak ,Aristide Merola, Ralf Reilmann, Serene S. Paul, Earl Ray Dorsey, Walter Maetzler, Alberto J. Espay, Pablo Martinez-Martin, Glenn T. Stebbins.
February 2021
Movement Disorders, Volume 8(20): 208-214
Telemedicine and COVID
In-Home Remote Assessment of the MDS-UPDRS Part III: Multi-Cultural Development and Validation of a Guide for Patients
Tosin MHS, Sanchez-Ferro A, Wu RM, de Oliveira BGRB, Leite MAA, Suárez PR, Goetz CG, Martinez-Martin P, Stebbins GT, Mestre TA
September 2024
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, Online ahead of print
Resolving missing data from the MDS-UPDRS: implications for telemedicine
Luo S, Goetz CG, Choi D, Aggarwal S, Mestre TA, Stebbins GT.
June 2022
Movement Disorders, Volume 37(8): 1749-55
Movement Disorder Society–unified Parkinson's disease rating scale use in the Covid-19 era
Goetz CG, Stebbins GT, Luo S.
April 2020
Movement Disorders, Volume 35(6): 911
Remotely assessing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease using videoconferencing: a feasibility study. Neurology Research International
Stillerova T, Liddle J, Gustafsson L, Lamont R, Silburn P.
December 2016
Neurology Research International, vol. 2016
Hoehn and Yahr Scale
Validation study of the Hoehn and Yahr scale included in the MDS-UPDRS. Movement Disorders
Martinez-Martin P, Skorvanek M, Rojo-Abuin JM, Gregova Z, Stebbins GT, Goetz CG; members of the QUALPD Study Group.
January 2018
Movement Disorders, Volume 33(4): 651-652
Differences in MDS-UPDRS scores based on Hoehn and Yahr stage and disease duration. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice
Skorvanek M, Martinez-Martin P, Kovacs N, Rodriguez-Violante M, Corvol JC, Taba P, Seppi K, Levin O, Schrag A, Foltynie T, Alvarez-Sanchez M.
January 2017
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, Volume 4(4):536-44
Teaching Program
Teaching program for the Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale:(MDS-UPDRS)
Goetz CG, Stebbins GT, Chmura TA, Fahn S, Poewe W, Tanner CM.
July 2010
Movement Disorders, Volume 25(9):1190-4.
For more publications regarding the MDS-UPDRS please visit the PubMed Website