1st April 2008 - New research
FATIGUE IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE
Journal of the Neurological Sciences 2008 Mar 25; [Epub ahead of print]
(Havlikova E, van Dijk JP, Rosenberger J, Nagyova I, Middel B, Dubayova T,
Gdovinova Z, Groothoff JW.) Complete abstract
Many
patients with Parkinson's disease suffer from non-motor symptoms such as
sleep disturbances, excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue. The aim of
this research was to find out whether fatigue in Parkinson's Disease is
caused by sleepiness and sleep problems, or depression, and how that is
related to a person's functional status. Sleepiness did not show significant
association with fatigue in any aspect of fatigue. Neither did the quality
of a person's sleep. It was depression that was significantly associated
with all aspects of fatigue, the strongest being the relationship with
general fatigue, then reduced motivation, then mental fatigue, then physical
fatigue, and finally with reduced activity. The worsening of functional
status was significantly related most of all to reduced activity, then
general fatigue, then physical fatigue, and then mental fatigue. So it is
primarily depression that causes fatigue in Parkinson's Disease. Fatigue can
in turn worsen symptoms.
Rayilyn Brown
Board Member AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
[log in to unmask]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn
