Daily dose of dopaminergic medications in Parkinson disease: Clinical correlates and a posteriori equation

Abstract

Objectives: To survey daily doses of dopaminergic medications and to draw a posteriori equation of the dose in relation to the various clinical variables in Korean patients with Parkinson disease. Methods: A multi-center cross-sectional survey was conducted over a defi ned period. Information on patient demographics and clinical features including age at Parkinson disease onset, disease duration, treatment duration and Hoehn and Yahr stage, and daily doses of anti-parkinsonian drugs was obtained from the patients’ medical records. Results: A total of 1,762 patients with Parkinson disease were recruited from 6 referral centers. The mean L-dopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD) in the whole population was 608.9 mg/day, which tended to increase linearly depending on the duration of disease and Hoehn and Yahr stage. LEDD was also signifi cantly affected by age and gender. We performed multiple linear regression analyses and devised a posteriori equation of LEDD with clinical variables. Conclusions: This survey provides systematic data for mean LEDD in Korean Parkinson disease patients. In spite of profound individual variations in LEDD, our linear regression model provides an insight about the relationship between daily doses of dopaminergic medications and various clinical features of Parkinson disease.