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Objective: To investigate parameters of lung function and respiratory muscle strength in different stages of Parkinson's disease (PD), as well as to determine their correlation with motor function and quality of life. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at a referral center for PD in the city of Recife, Brazil. Respiratory muscle strength and lung function, as well as their relationship with motor function and quality of life, were evaluated in patients with PD, stratified by the level of severity, and were compared with the data obtained for a control group. After confirming the normality of data distribution, we performed one-way ANOVA with a post hoc t-test. Results: The sample comprised 66 individuals, in two groups: PD (n = 49) and control (n = 17). All of the parameters investigated showed inverse correlations with PD severity, and there were significant differences among the levels of severity, as well as between the PD and control groups, in terms of the MIP, MEP, FVC, FEV1, and FEF25-75%. The lung function parameters also showed moderate to weak inverse correlations with bradykinesia and rigidity. On a quality of life questionnaire, the total score and mobility domain score both presented a moderate inverse correlation with FVC, FEV1, PEF, and MEP. Conclusions: Respiratory muscle strength and some lung function parameters are impaired from the early stages of PD onward, bradykinesia and rigidity being the cardinal signs that correlate most strongly with impairment of those parameters. Such alterations negatively affect the quality of life of patients with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual hallucinations are significant nonmotor symptoms in the course of treatment of Parkinson's disease. Previous studies have shown that the interindividual variability and pharmacogenetic profile of Parkinson's disease patients seem to influence the occurrence of visual hallucinations. In our study, we investigated a possible relationship of sequence variants in DRD1, DRD2, DRD3, DAT1, and COMT genes with the presence of visual hallucinations in Parkinson's disease patients. A total of 224 Brazilian patients from the Pro‐Parkinson service at the Clinical Hospital of the University of Pernambuco, diagnosed with sporadic Parkinson's disease, were enrolled. Parkinson's disease patients were divided into 2 groups based on the presence or absence of visual hallucinations. The sequence variants for DRD1, DRD2, DRD3, DAT1, and COMT were determined through the polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Multiple Poisson regression analyses showed that individuals carrying the DRD3 Ser/Ser and Ser/Gly genotypes presented increased prevalence ratios of visual hallucinations (9.7‐fold and 4.4‐fold, respectively; P <.001). Regarding DAT1 rs28363170, there was a 9.82‐fold increase in the prevalence ratio in patients with the 10/11 genotype, 8.78‐fold for the 10/8 genotype, and 2.44‐fold for the 9/8 genotypes (P <.001, for all). In addition, visual hallucinations were also associated with use of transdermal patches with rotigotine (PR, 3.7; 95%CI, 1.2‐10.9; P =.017) and rasagiline (PR, 2.8; 95%CI, 1.3‐6.0; P =.006). Our results suggest that the genetic variants DRD3 and DAT1, along with other therapeutic confounders, may influence the prevalence ratio of visual hallucinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible relationship between DRD2/ANKK1 (rs1800497) and SLC6A3/DAT1 (rs28363170) gene polymorphisms with the response to levodopa (L‐DOPA)‐therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: One hundred and ninety‐five patients with idiopathic PD were investigated. Patients were genotyped for rs1800497 and rs28363170 polymorphisms using PCR‐RFLP. Logistic regression was performed to assess the association of polymorphisms with the occurrence of the chronic complications of L‐DOPA therapy. Key findings: Our results showed association between the occurrence of dyskinesia with an increased greater disease severity (P = 0.007), higher L‐DOPA dose (P = 0.007) and use of dopamine agonist (P = 0.020). Moreover, there were significant protective effects for age (P = 0.004) and male subjects (P = 0.006). Conclusions: Clinical and demographic characteristics of Brazilian PD patients and differences in DRD2 and DAT1 genes may to determine individual variations in the therapeutic response to L‐DOPA in the Brazilian PD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]