Prevalence and characteristics of polyneuropathy in atypical Parkinsonian syndromes

  • (1) Background: Peripheral nerve involvement is increasingly recognized in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although non-motor symptoms and postural instability are early features of atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS), peripheral neuropathies in APS have not been addressed in detail thus far. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of polyneuropathies (PNP) in multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), as representative syndromes of APS. (2) Methods: In total, 8 MSA and 6 PSP patients were comprehensively analyzed regarding subjective, clinical (motor and non-motor) and paraclinical PNP features using nerve conduction studies and high resolution nerve ultrasounds (HRUS). (3) Results: A total of 87.5% of MSA and 66.7% of PSP patients complained of at least one neuropathic symptom, with electrophysiological confirmation of PNP in 50.0% of both, MSA and PSP patients. PNP symptom severity in PSP and motor nerve amplitude in MSA were associated with compromised motor function. Morphologic nerve examination by HRUS showed few alterations according to the axonal type of PNP. (4) Conclusions: The overall high PNP symptom burden may be partially credited to the significant prevalence of electrophysiologically diagnosed PNP, and impact motor aspects of APS. The findings of this exploratory study reinforce further investigations on a larger scale, in order to elucidate peripheral nerve involvement and the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of APS.

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Author:Rachel RohmannGND, Eva KühnGND, Raphael ScherbaumORCiDGND, Lovis HilkerGND, Saskia KoolsGND, Leonard ScholzGND, Katharina MüllerGND, Sophie HuckemannGND, Christiane Schneider-GoldORCiDGND, Ralf GoldORCiDGND, Kalliopi PitarokoiliORCiDGND, Lars TöngesORCiDGND, Eun Hae KwonGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-84212
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11070879
Parent Title (English):Brain Sciences
Subtitle (English):an explorative study
Publisher:MDPI
Place of publication:Basel
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2021/11/06
Date of first Publication:2021/06/30
Publishing Institution:Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek
Tag:atypical parkinsonian syndromes; multiple system atrophy; nerve conduction study; polyneuropathy; progressive supranuclear palsy
Volume:11
Issue:7, Article 879
First Page:879-1
Last Page:879-13
Institutes/Facilities:St. Josef-Hospital Bochum, Neurologische Klinik
Zentrum für Protein-Diagnostik (PRODI)
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY 4.0 - Attribution 4.0 International