Autonomic dysfunction in Parkinson's disease and vascular parkinsonism.

OBJECTIVES

To clarify the autonomic dysfunction in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and vascular parkinsonism (VP), we investigated the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and pulse rate (PR), the standing test, and the coefficient of variation in the R-R interval (CV[R-R]).

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

BP and PR were determined automatically every 30 min for 24 h in 15 PD patients, 15 VP patients and 15 healthy volunteers. The CV(R-R) values evaluated by an electrocardiogram and the standing test were also performed.

RESULTS

The BP-PR relationship was lost in the patient groups. There was no significant difference in the standing test between the control and patient groups. A significantly decreased CV(R-R) was observed in the VP group.

CONCLUSION

We speculate that our results may reflect an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in PD and VP.