Clinical Characteristics of Patients with De Novo Parkinson's Disease and a Positive Family History.

Background/

Objectives

A family history of Parkinson's disease (PD) is an important risk factor for developing PD. Because only a few studies have investigated the clinical characteristics of PD patients based on family history, this study compared the clinical characteristics of PD patients with and without a family history of PD.

Methods

The study involved 356 patients with de novo PD. The data on the patients' PD family histories were obtained from the patients and their caregivers. Motor and non-motor PD symptoms were assessed using the appropriate scales.

Results

Out of the 356 PD patients, 26 (7.3%) had a family history of PD. Compared with patients without a family history of PD, those with a family history of PD tended to be younger at diagnosis (67.9 years vs. 62.2 years, respectively; p = 0.009) and exhibited significantly more severe rigidity (p = 0.036). Motor subtype was not different between the PD patients with and without a family history. PD patients with a family history experienced significantly fewer falls/cardiovascular symptoms within the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale domains (p = 0.001) compared to their counterparts, although this was not statistically significant upon adjusting for age (p = 0.119).

Conclusions

In de novo PD patients, having a family history of PD is associated with a younger age at diagnosis and more severe rigidity.