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Symptoms and duration of the prodromal phase in parkinson's disease
Author(s) -
Gonera Ed G.,
Hof Martin Van't,
Berger Hans J. C.,
van Weel Chris,
Horstink Martin W. I. M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.870120607
Subject(s) - parkinsonism , parkinson's disease , disease , medicine , central nervous system disease , pediatrics , retrospective cohort study , degenerative disease , physical therapy
To investigate the duration of a prodromal phase before the onset of the classic symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's disease the authors conducted a retrospective case control study of 60 patients with Parkinson's disease and 58 age‐ and sex‐matched control subjects, covering the decade preceding the onset of classic Parkinson's disease. The symptoms were derived from files of the patients general practitioners. Compared with control subjects, patients pre‐Parkinson's disease had more central nervous system, psychologic, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular (i.e., autonomic) symptoms. Patients pre‐Parkinson's disease also made more visits to general practitioners and medical specialists. The results indicate that the onset of classic parkinsonism is frequently precede by a prodromal phase lasting from 4–6 years.