Mirror movements in Parkinson's disease: effect of dopaminergic drugs

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Abstract
We recruited 13 treated patients for this longitudinal assessment from the initial cohort of 27 patients2 with suspected mirror movements and recent-onset asymmetric idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, seen at the Movement Disorders Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, between September 2001 and January 2003. At follow–up, all patients had been receiving optimal doses of dopaminergic drugs for many months. Parkinsonian features were combined into axial and lateralised scores using related items of the motor subscale of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). The asymmetry index was calculated as the absolute difference between the sides divided by the sum of their scores (L−R/[L+R]). A larger asymmetry index indicates greater difference in disease burden between sides and therefore more asymmetry. The patients’ total daily dose of dopaminergic drugs were converted to levodopa equivalents using a published formula. …