Pain and dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease may share common pathophysiological mechanisms - An fMRI study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) patients develop levodopa induced dyskinesia with disease progression from sensitization of central pathways. Pain pathways are also impacted with suggestions dyskinetic patients may process pain differently. OBJECTIVE: Establish if centrally sensitized nociceptive pathways are altered and dopaminergically driven in dyskinetic patients. METHODS: Clinical characteristics, affect, pain thresholds and sensitivity to pressure stimulation in the ON and OFF medication states as well as distribution of pain related activation of cortical regions on BOLD fMRI were assessed and compared between groups of patients suffering from dyskinesia and not. RESULTS: Dyskine..