• Roberto Erro, Marina Picillo, Carmine Vitale, Marianna Amboni, Marcello Moccia, Katia Longo, Autilia Cozzolino, Flavio Giordano, Anna De Rosa, Giuseppe De Michele, Maria Teresa Pellecchia, and Paolo Barone.
• Department of Neurological Science, University Federico II, Naples, Italy.
• J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr.. 2013 Jan 1;84(1):14-7.

BackgroundNon-motor symptoms are very common among patients with Parkinson's disease since the earliest stage, but little is known about their progression and their relationship with dopaminergic replacement therapy.MethodsWe studied non-motor symptoms before and after 2 years from dopaminergic therapy introduction in ninety-one newly diagnosed previously untreated PD patients.ResultsAt baseline, nearly all patients (97.8%) referred at least one non-motor symptom. At follow-up, only few non-motor symptoms significantly changed. Particularly, depression and concentration became less frequent, while weight change significantly increased after introduction of dopamine agonists.ConclusionsWe reported for the first time a 2-year prospective study on non-motor symptoms before and after starting therapy in newly diagnosed PD patients. Even if non-motor symptoms are very frequent in early stage, they tend to remain stable during the early phase of disease, being only few non-motor symptoms affected from dopaminergic therapy and, specifically, by the use of dopamine agonists.

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