The Assessment Of Autonomic Nervous System Function And Motor Unit Number In Parkinson's Disease By Electrophysiological Tests

PART I Sympathetic skin response in patients with Parkinson's diseaseObjective: To assess the sympathetic system function of sudomotor reflex circuit in Parkinson's disease(PD) by sympathetic skin response(SSR).Methods: The latency and amplitude of sympathetic skin response(SSR) were recorded on the palm and sole of one side with more serious syndrome in twenty-eight Parkinsonian patients, and the correlations were studied within the results and other factors such as age, the duration of disease and UPDRS scores et al.Results: Reduction in amplitude of SSR was found in hands of patients compared to controls(P<0.05)and the presence of SSR in feet was decreased, while the latency in hands and feet were not delayed when compared with age, sex and height matched normal controls. Negtive correlation was found between amplitude of SSR in hands and latency in hands,H-Y stages or UPDRS scores(r and p respectively were - 0.359 P<0.05, - 0.504 P <0.05,and - 0.647 P<0.01).Conclusions: The abnormality of SSR was really exists in Parkinsonian patients and it was influenced by the serious degree of the disease.