Visual disturbances in patients with Parkinson’s Disease treated with oral medications or deep brain stimulation

Abstract

AIM OF THE STUDY: Ophthalmological symptoms are common in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and can be evaluated by the Visual Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (VIPD-Q). This study aimed to assess the prevalence of ophthalmological symptoms in PD depending on the type of treatment used i.e. pharmacological or subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS).
MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study. The data was gathered from a VIPD-Q and from medical records. Patients with PD were divided into two groups based on the type of treatment – pharmacological (control group, CG) (39 patients) or STN-DBS (40 patients).
RESULTS: The great majority of patients — 72 (91.1%) — experienced an ophthalmological symptom. The prevalence of three symptoms differed significantly between the groups. A burning sensation or a gritty feeling in the eyes occurred more often in patients in the STN-DBS group (40.0% vs. 15.4%; p = 0.015). On the other hand, the inability to read plain text on a coloured or grey background and problems with rapid changes of light intensity were more common in the CG group (38.5% vs. 15.0%, p = 0.018 and 28.2% vs. 10.0%, p = 0.039, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The prevalence of ophthalmological symptoms in PD is high. Despite significant differences in the three symptoms, the overall prevalence of ophthalmological clinical features was similar in the evaluated groups.