TUESDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Among patients with Parkinson disease, a small group may develop dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS) and compulsively use dopaminergic drugs, researchers report in the Nov. 22 issue of Neurology. This is more likely to occur in patients who are younger than average, depressed or who are heavy drinkers, the report indicates.
A team led by Andrew J. Lees, M.D., of the Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, U.K., conducted a study of 25 Parkinson disease patients with DDS and compared them with 100 Parkinson patients who had not developed the disorder. The study compared clinical features as well as various traits such as impulsive sensation seeking (ISS), past drug use, smoking and alcohol intake, and depressive symptoms.
Those in the DDS group were significantly younger when they developed Parkinson disease -- 43 years, on average, versus 56 years for the control group. They scored higher on ISS ratings, had more depressive symptoms, greater past experimental use of drugs and higher alcohol intake.
"DDS frequently leads to a constellation of behavioral and psychiatric problems that stem directly from excessive and inappropriate dopaminergic drug use and is frequently associated with severe off-period dysphoria, disabling dyskinesias and punding. There is also a high incidence of hypersexuality, compulsive eating and other appetitive behavioral compulsions," the authors note.
Identifying factors that are associated with DDS may help to identify early patients who are more vulnerable and may help to minimize the consequences, they conclude.
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