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R-R interval variation in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy
T Yu Gurevich1, G B Groozman, N Giladi
1Department of Neurology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Objective:
To investigate whether the cardiac R-R interval variation (RRIV) is of value in differentiating patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) from multiple system atrophy (MSA).
Background:
RRIV assessment is a simple procedure, reflecting mainly vagal efferent activity. Reduced RRIV was reported in MSA.
Methods:
RRIV at rest and after 120 s of deep breathing was assessed blindly to clinical diagnosis in 22 PD and 20 MSA patients. The results were compared with data from 23 age-matched healthy subjects.
Results:
RRIV at rest was 7.1 +/- 2.7% in PD and 9.7 +/- 7.2% in MSA, increasing after deep breathing to 11.2 +/- 6.3 and 12.3 +/- 6.6% correspondingly. The frequency of the RRIV abnormalities in the PD group (4/22, 18.2%) and MSA (6/20, 30%) were higher than among controls (P < 0.004).
Conclusions:
RRIV, either at rest or after deep breathing, may be abnormal both in PD and MSA, but does not distinguish between these disorders.