Levodopa-induced dyskinesia is still a major clinical problem in Brazilian movement disorder clinics

Abstract

Background

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) remains a significant motor complication in Parkinson's disease (PD), although opinions differ on its clinical relevance.

Objective

To explore the current prevalence and impact of LID, we analyzed two cohorts from the Latin American Research Consortium on the Genetics of Parkinson's Disease from movement disorder clinics in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, recruited 10 years apart.

Methods

The cohorts included 187 individuals diagnosed with PD in phase 1 (2007–2014) and 224 in phase 2 (2021–2022). The presence and functional impact of LID were measured using part IV (items 4.1 and 4.2 respectively) of the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS).

Results

The analysis revealed that LID frequency increased from 34.7 in phase 1 to 54.9% in phase 2 (more recent), with functional impact rising from 25.1 to 38.8%.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that LID remains a relevant clinical issue in clinics specialized in movement disorders in Brazil, with no reduction in prevalence throughout the last decade. Further studies from other regions and less specialized neurology centers may help understand this motor complication in Brazil and in other developing countries.

Keywords

Parkinson Disease - Dyskinesias - Levodopa - Brazil

Authors' Contributions

Conceptualization: VT; Formal analysis: VT; Methodology: VT, MMCMB, VB, HFB, IFM, BLSL; Investigation: VT, MMCMB, VB, HFB, BLSL; Writing – original draft: VT, BLSL; Writing – review & editing: VT, BLSL. All authors contributed to the study conception and design.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Editor-in-Chief: Hélio A. G. Teive0000-0003-2305-1073.

Associate Editor: Laura Silveira-Moriyama0000-0003-2184-626X.

Publication History

Received: 29 October 2024

Accepted: 11 February 2025

Article published online:
20 May 2025

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