Neurotological findings in patients with Parkinson's disease

The number of elderly people is increasing considerably in our settings, and with that we have a matching increase in chronic-degenerative diseases - such as Parkinson's Disease (PD), which has balance-related symptoms associated and is increasingly more prevalent in the elderly population. AIM: Study labyrinth exams in PD patients and associate them with vestibular disorders. Study design: contemporary cross-sectional cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients were assessed, twenty females and ten males, at the age range of 48 - 84 years. Procedures: anamnesis, ear inspection and vestibular assessment by means of a vecto-electronystagmography (VENG). RESULTS: a) As to the neurotological complaints reported in the anamnesis, there was a prevalence of: tremor (100.0%), dizziness (43.3%), tinnitus (40.0%), gait unbalance and falls (36.6%) in each; b) in assessing the vestibular function, there was a significant difference in the rate of altered exams (p=0.0000); c) Most alterations happened in the peripheral vestibular system (93.3%) and the caloric test, with a predominance of bilateral labyrinth hyporreflexia (30,0%); d) The exam results were correlated with the vestibular symptoms and we noticed that there were no significant differences. CONCLUSION: this study showed us a significant number of altered exams, unrelated to symptoms.