The correlation of depression with functional activity in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

We evaluated 109 Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in three ways: using a standardized psychiatric interview for depression and anxiety, using standardized neurological evaluation for motor disability, and using cognitive assessment for cognitive impairment. Six of the 109 patients who had dementia and another two afflicted with organic delusional disorder were excluded from further analysis. The remaining 101 PD patients were divided into the following three groups according to the DSM-III-R criteria: major depressive disorder (n = 18), other depressive disorders (n = 25) including dysthymic disorder and depressive disorder not otherwise specified, and no depression (n = 58). The frequency of major depressive disorder of the 109 PD patients was 16.5%, and the frequency of major and other depressive disorders, taken together, was 42.2%. Using the percentage points measured on the Schwab & England Activities of Daily Living Scale as the dependent variable to fit a multivariate regression model, we found the lower score significantly correlated with the diagnosis of depressive disorder and higher score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, in addition to motor disability and disease severity of PD. Given the high frequency of depression and the significant correlation between depression and performance in daily functional activites, we believe that an evaluation of PD patients for coexisting depression is necessary for a better therapeutic outcome.

Depression in Parkinson's disease is related to a genetic polymorphism of the cannabinoid receptor gene (CNR1)

“…4,8 Others suggest that mood alterations are just a direct consequence of the neurodegeneration of certain brain nuclei in patients with PD, 6,9 regardless of the severity of the motor disability. It appears that there is a relationship between severity and duration of motor symptoms in PD and depression, [10][11][12] but depression is more frequent in PD than in other chronic neurological diseases, 5 suggesting that this symptom belongs, at least in part, to the core of PD, and is not only reactive to a reduced quality of life.…”

The Serotonergic Hypothesis for Depression in Parkinson's Disease: an Experimental Approach

“…Depression is associated with a reduced quality of life, increased functional disability, more severe cognitive symptoms, and enhanced caregiver's stress (Troster et al, 1995;Liu et al, 1997;Aarsland, 1999;Hobson et al, 1999). Although there is some knowledge about risk factors associated with depression in PD, little is known about its pathophysiology.…”

A Review on Pharmacological Treatment of Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease

“…Patient of Parkinson's disease with depression are more functionally impaired. [44]. Managing depression in Parkinson's disease decreases the disability and improves the quality of life [45].…”