The Measurement of Bone Mineral Density in Parkinson's Disease

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis, one of the most common metabolic bone disease, might be influenced by the severity of Parkinson's disease (PD). Objectives: We investigated the relationship between the Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and the severity of PD in postmenopausal and senile women. METHODS: We measured BMD of lumbar spine (L1-L4) by Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA; Hologic QDR-4500A). We compared BMD between patient group (30 patients with PD) and control (183 postmenopausal and senile health women). The patients were divided into two groups according to osteoporosis and analyzed the following potential factors influencing BMD in PD; age, duration of symptom, age of onset, Hoehn and Yahr stage (H-Y stage), UPDRS motor score, duration of treatment, body mass index (BMI), dominant symptom such as tremor or rigidity. RESULTS: 1. BMD was significantly decreased with aging (p 0.05). CONCLUSION: Osteoporosis is related to H-Y stage, UPDRS motor score and BMI as well as aging in PD.