Panic Attack and Wearing-off in Parkinson’s Disease
Hafize LEVENT ÇOTUR1, Esra KISACIK2, M. Cenk AKBOSTANCI1
1Ankara Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Nöroloji Anabilim Dalı, Ankara, Türkiye
2Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi, Psikoloji Bölümü, Sivas, Türkiye
Keywords: Levodopa; panic attack; Parkinson’s disease; wearing off.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the prevalence of panic attack (PA) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the efficiency of levodopa on PA symptoms.
Patients and Methods: The study included 199 patients (124 males, 75 females; mean age 64.9±11.2 years; range 27 to 87 years) diagnosed with PD according to United Kingdom Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank criteria. Patients were administered Wearing-off Questionnaire and Hoehn and Yahr Scale.
Results: Of the Parkinson’s patients, 24.6% (n=49) had PA symptoms. After levodopa administration, 14 patients reported improvement in their symptoms while 35 patients reported that their symptoms did not improve. There was a statistically low but significant correlation between PD stage and presence of PA symptoms.
Conclusion: Panic attack symptoms are common in Parkinson’s patients and prevalence of such symptoms is independent from PD stages. Usage of levodopa may improve PA symptoms in PD.