News Release: Patient’s Perception of Non-Motor and Motor Function Successfully Models Parkinson’s Disease Severity

EMBARGOED until Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Media Contact: Elizabeth Clausen, +1 414-276-2145, eclausen@movementdisorders.org

Patient’s Perception of Non-Motor and Motor Function Successfully Models Parkinson’s Disease Severity

NICE, FRANCE – Patient’s perception of non-motor and motor function can successfully model Parkinson’s disease severity as rated by examiners, according to a new study released today at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®.

There is increased interest from clinical and regulatory bodies when it comes to patient reported data and its relationship to clinician administered measures of Parkinson’s disease (PD) severity. Understanding the specific self-reported non-motor and motor functional impairments that contribute to PD severity is important to treatment efforts.

The study, led by Christopher Goetz at Rush University, used the validated International MDS_UPDRS Translation database, providing complete examinations on 6,684 patients in 19 languages. Patient reported functional impairment in non-motor (Part 1) and motor (Part 2) domains were used to model overall PD severity as measured by the clinical examination from the MDS-UPDRS (Part 3). Automatic Linear Modeling using an All Possible Subset - Best Model algorithm was used based on minimization of the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). The resultant optimal model was replicated using the Overfit Prevention Criterion (OPC). Of the two models, the patient's perception of motor function was superior to their perception of non-motor function according to AIC values, while OPC indicated successful replication for both models. Overall, these results demonstrate the linking of self-reported non-motor and motor function to objectively determined PD motor severity.

K. Ray Chaudhuri, Professor of Movement Disorders and Clinical Director of the National Parkinson Foundation Centre of Excellence at Kings College in London, states “This is an important piece of research coming from a world renowned group and objectively defines what is now considered the benchmark concept of Parkinson’s disease (PD), that it is effectively as much a non-motor disorder as it is motor, the latter being the traditionally defined concept of this fastest growing neurodegenerative disorder in the world. The researchers were able to show that self-reporting of motor and importantly, non-motor symptoms can successfully be used to construct a severity model of PD.” Chaudhuri adds, “This research supports the importance and validity of combining motor and non-motor measurements of PD in terms of grading disease severity as can be done using the MDS-UPDRS.”

About the International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders®: Meeting attendees gather to learn the latest research findings and state-of-the-art treatment options in Movement Disorders, including Parkinson's disease. Over 5,100 physicians and medical professionals from more than 95 countries will be in attendance to view 2,200 scientific abstracts submitted by clinicians from around the world.

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society:

The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS), an international society of over 8,500 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit www.movementdisorders.org