New research found that patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease who were treated with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel infusion experienced an improvement in sleep quality, according to a review published in Parkinson’s Disease.
The study sample included 7 consecutive participants who received an implant for continuous levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel infusion; dosage was titrated individually until greatest motor control was attained. The investigators performed overnight polysomnography before and after 6 months of treatment, reporting on parameters including sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, REM sleep and non-REM sleep, snoring sounds, apnea-hypopnea index, arousals, leg movements in sleep, and more. The investigators also administered questionnaires at baseline and follow-up, including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, fatigue scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Beck Depression Inventory, and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale.
Motor fluctuations and symptoms showed significant improvement after 6 months of continuous levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel infusion. Polysomnography results showed improvements in generalized sleep efficiency; however, changes observed in sleep parameters from baseline to follow-up were not considered statistically significant.
