Sympathetic dysfunction as an early indicator of autonomic involvement in Parkinson’s disease

The specific characteristics of autonomic involvement in patients with early Parkinson’s disease (PD) are unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of autonomic dysfunction in drug-naïve patients with early-stage PD without orthostatic hypotension (OH) by analyzing Valsalva maneuver (VM) parameters.

We retrospectively analyzed drug-naïve patients without orthostatic hypotension (n = 61) and controls (n = 20). The patients were subcategorized into early PD (n = 35) and mid-PD (n = 26) groups on the basis of the Hoehn and Yahr staging. VM parameters, including changes in systolic blood pressure at late phase 2 (∆SBP_VM2), ∆HR_VM3, Valsalva ratio (VR), pressure recovery time, adrenergic baroreflex sensitivity, and vagal baroreflex sensitivity, were assessed.

In the early PD group, ∆SBP_VM2, a marker of sympathetic function, was significantly lower compared with that in controls (risk ratio = 0.95, P = 0.027). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed an optimal cut-off value of −10 mmHg for ∆SBP_VM2 [P = 0.002, area under the curve (AUC): 0.737]. VR exhibited an inverse relationship with Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part 3 scores in the multivariable regression analysis (VR: P = 0.038, β = −28.61), whereas age showed a positive relationship (age: P = 0.027, β = 0.35).

The ∆BP_VM2 parameter of the VM may help detect autonomic nervous system involvement in early-PD without OH. Our results suggest that sympathetic dysfunction is an early manifestation of autonomic dysfunction in patients with PD.