Orthostatic hypotension as an early finding in Parkinson's disease

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) commonly have clinically significant orthostatic hypotension (OH). In such patients PD+OH might be confused with multiple system atrophy (MSA), in which OH is a frequent finding, or with pure autonomic failure (PAF), if OH preceded clinical manifestations of the movement disorder. This study addressed whether OH can occur as an early finding in PD+OH. Historical data were analyzed from 35 patients with PD+OH evaluated at the NIH. OH was considered early if the patient had OH before, concurrent with, or starting within 1 year after onset of a symptomatic movement disorder. MSA was excluded by myocardial 6-[(18)F]fluorodopamine-derived radioactivity more than 2 standard deviations below the normal mean. Among the 35 PD+OH patients, 21 (60 %) had documentation of OH as an early finding. In 4 such patients, OH had preceded parkinsonism, and in 4 others, OH had dominated the early clinical picture, even after cessation of levodopa treatment for the movement disorder. In PD, OH can occur early in the disease, occasionally preceding or overshadowing the movement disorder.