How parkinsonism influences life: the patients' point of view.

To explore the experience of living with parkinsonism, a survey form was sent to the members of a patients' association; 1,256 forms were analysed. The mean age was 65.75 ± 9.29 years; 64.4% males. A family history was reported by 19.2%. Basic abilities were preserved in 75% of the responders; the ability to do indoor and outdoor activities was preserved in 42 and 28%, respectively. 70% of the responders liked to meet other people and about 50% liked discussing their condition. 80.3% of the responders lived with partner, while 7.8% did not live with family. Of the patients' partners, 38.9% took drugs, and 9.4% themselves needed assistance. Care programmes for parkinsonians should take into account the disease duration, the degree of disability, the presence of caregiver/s, and the level of caregiver burden; but it should also be appreciated that social habits, need of help, and severity of symptoms influence disability.

Parkinson's disease and reproductive life events.

Onset, progression and duration of Parkinson's disease (PD) seem to be similar in men and women but gender differences have been suggested concerning clinical aspects, such as more severe disease in men and more dyskinesia in women. Taking into account the multiple influences of sex hormones, estrogens in particular, on basal ganglia function, the present work compared the characteristics of reproductive events in PD subjects and in healthy women, with regard to onset and clinical aspects of the disease with respect to the milestones of reproductive life. A total of 150 PD women and 200 healthy women matched for age were interviewed about reproductive life and disease characteristics (if patients). As a group, the women with PD had menarche later than the controls, but in the normal range. Menopause was similar to the controls for time, type (natural) and onset (slow), but with less hormonal therapies. Women with PD had fewer children, while breast feeding and gynecological diseases were comparable to controls. The characteristics of menses were similar as far as dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The women with PD onset before menopause had a longer disease duration, with a more frequent fluctuating stage, and longer treatment with both levodopa and dopamine agonists. They had more dysmenorrhea and PMS when compared with women with PD onset after menopause and controls.