Introduction: A large proportion of patients with Parkinson's disease suffer fluctuations and dyskinesias in the course of the disease. The present study explores the variables that predict the appearance of these complications.
Patients and methods: This is a cross-sectional study that studies 285 patients with Parkinson's disease. Patient's age, date of diagnosis and of treatment with levodopa and motor situation (UPDRS III) were recorded. Drugs and doses were documented. Finally, levodopa equivalent dose in those patients using agonists or prolonged release formulations was calculated.
Results: Mean age of the patients was 71.1 years (+/-9.1). Disease duration was 8.7 years (+/-11.8). A total of 118 patients (41.4%) presented motor fluctuations, and 61 patients (21.4 %) had dyskinesias. Two discriminant analytical models were established. In the first model, the dependent variable was the presence of fluctuations, and three variables significantly discriminated between the two groups: the levodopa equivalent dose, the duration of treatment with levodopa and the motor situation. In the second model the presence of dyskinesias constituted the dependent variable. The only variable selected by this model was the levodopa equivalent dose.
Discussion: The duration of treatment with levodopa, the doses of agonists and levodopa and the motor situation differentiate patients with fluctuations from those without them. In the case of dyskinesias, only the agonists and levodopa doses were selected by the analytical model.