Serial macro-architectural alterations with levodopa in Parkinson's disease: Polysomnography (PSG)-based analysis.

PURPOSE: We studied the sleep macroarchitecture with polysomnography (PSG) in drug naïve patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and reassessed them following treatment with levodopa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective hospital-based study included 15 patients with PD (age: 59 ± 11.2 years, duration of PD: 11.8 ± 12.3 months; and male: female (M:F) = 11:4). They were assessed for demography, phenotype, modified Hoehn and Yahr staging (H & Y); Schwab and England and Activities of Daily Living (S and E ADL) Scale; and Unified PDRating Scale (UPDRS). Sleep was assessed using Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) comprehensive sleep disorder questionnaire. They underwent overnight PSG at baseline and after13.3 ± 5.7 months of levodopa (440 mg/day). RESULTS: Patients with PD had responded to levodopa as indicated by the significant improvement in UPDRS motor score in ON state compared to OFF state. Nocturnal sleep quality indices did not vary significantly, but the excessive daytime somnolence improved (P = 0.04) with levodopa. Sleep efficiency (P = 0.65), latency to sleep onset (P = 0.19), latency to stage 1 (P = 0.12), and duration of stage 1 (P = 0.55) had increased. Duration of 'awake in bed' (P = 0.24), slow wave sleep (P = 0.29), and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (P = 0.24) decreased with treatment. Periodic leg movements (PLMs) had reduced (P = 0.68) and mean oxygen saturation during sleep improved (P = 0.002). Surprisingly, snore index (P < 0.03) during sleep had increased with levodopa. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep alterations in PD occur even in early stages due to the disease process. There was improvement in most of the parameters of sleep macroarchitecture with levodopa.

Alterations in Polysomnographic (PSG) profile in drug-naïve Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: We studied the changes in Polysomnographic (PSG) profile in drug-naïve patients of Parkinson's disease (PD) who underwent evaluation with sleep overnight PSG. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study included 30 with newly diagnosed levodopa-naïve patients with PD, fulfilling the UK-PD society brain bank clinical diagnostic criteria (M:F = 25:5; age: 57.2 ± 10.7 years). The disease severity scales and sleep related questionnaires were administered, and then patients were subjected to overnight PSG. RESULTS: The mean duration of illness was 9.7 ± 9.5 months. The mean Hoehn and Yahr stage was 1.8 ± 0.4. The mean Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor score improved from 27.7 ± 9.2 to 17.5 ± 8.9 with sustained usage of levodopa. Nocturnal sleep as assessed by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was impaired in 10 (33.3%) patients (mean PSQI score: 5.1 ± 3.1). Excessive day time somnolence was recorded in three patients with Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score ≥ 10 (mean ESS score: 4.0 ± 3.4). PSG analysis revealed that poor sleep efficiency of <85% was present in 86.7% of patients (mean: 68.3 ± 21.3%). The latencies to sleep onset (mean: 49.8 ± 67.0 minutes) and stage 2 sleep (36.5 ± 13.1%) were prolonged while slow wave sleep was shortened. Respiration during sleep was significantly impaired in which 43.3% had impaired apnoea hyperpnoea index (AHI) ≥5, mean AHI: 8.3 ± 12.1). Apnoeic episodes were predominantly obstructive (obstructive sleep apnea, OSA index = 2.2 ± 5.1). These patients had periodic leg movement (PLM) disorder (56.7% had PLM index of 5 or more, mean PLMI: 27.53 ± 4 9.05) that resulted in excessive daytime somnolence. CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, sleep macro-architecture is altered in frequently and variably in levodopa-naïve patients of PD and the alterations are possibly due to disease process per se.