Abnormal pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength findings in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy--comparison with normal elderly.

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BackgroundThere have been limited comparative data regarding the investigations on pulmonary and respiratory muscle function in the patients with different parkinsonism disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) versus normal elderly. The present study is aiming to characterize the performance of pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength in PD and MSA, and to investigate the association with severity of motor symptoms and disease duration.MethodsPulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength tests were performed in 30 patients with PD, 27 with MSA as well as in 20 age-, sex-, height-, weight-matched normal elderly controls. All the patients underwent United Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) or united multiple system atrophy rating scale (UMSARS) separately as diagnosed.ResultsVital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity decreased, residual volume and ratio of residual volume to total lung capacity increased in both PD and MSA groups compared to controls (pConclusionsThese findings suggest that respiratory dysfunction is involved in PD and MSA. Respiratory muscle strength is remarkably reduced, and some of the parameters correlate with disease duration and illness severity. The compromised respiratory function in neurodegenerative disorders should be the focus of further researches.

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