SMALL AND LARGE FIBER NEUROPATHY IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

27th August 2016 - New research

Recent studies have reported that peripheral neuropathy is common in people with Parkinson's Disease and raised the possibility that L-dopa neurotoxicity is the main culprit. Peripheral neuropathy develops when nerves in the body's extremities, such as the hands, feet and arms, are damaged. This can cause numbness and tingling in the feet or hands, burning pain in affected areas, and muscle weakness, especially in the feet. For more information go to : 

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Peripheral-neuropathy/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

In people with Parkinson's Disease, neuropathy screening was carried out, including neurological examination, nerve conduction studies and skin wrinkling tests.

Two of the tests showed that 57% and 42% of people with Parkinson's Disease had abnormal results that indicated polyneuropathy. The prevalence in people with a Parkinsonism was similar to people with Parkinson's Disease but the results were less severe. The results showed that polyneuropathy was more common in Parkinson's Disease than previously assumed, but the cause was not solely attributed to taking L-dopa.

The researchers concluded that large fiber and small fiber polyneuropathy are common in people with Parkinson's Disease. However, instead of concluding that the cause was L-dopa, the cause of the neuropathy was thought to be multifactorial. Neuropathy was previously related to age, vitamin B12 deficiency, serum folate levels, and especially L-dopa use.

Reference : BMC Neurology [2016] 16 : 139 (D.F.de Araújo, A.P.de Melo Neto, I.S. Oliveira, B.S.Brito, I.T.de Araújo, I.S.Barros, J.W.Lima, W.G.Horta, FdeA.Gondim)

Complete abstract : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27530902

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http://www.viartis.net/parkinsons.disease/news/160827.pdf