Depression is one of the most common disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Medication that enhance serotonergic transmission are often used to relieve depressive disorders. Despite the beneficial effect of these drugs on depressive symptoms, it is not yet known how these drugs affect the motor signs of PD. For the purposes of this study, we used data from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) study database. It is an ongoing, longitudinal study of various factors that could potentially affect the course of the disease. The study included patients with PD who first started taking medication that enhance serotonergic transmission during the study. We used demographic data and the motor and non-motor status of 66 patients before the start and on average 237 days after the start of taking target drugs. This group of patients was compared with a control group of 132 patients who matched the target group in terms of motor status before taking target drugs. The results of the study showed that despite the fact that at the beginning members of target and control group did not differ from each other, patients who started taking drugs that enhance serotonergic transmission have a statistically significantly worse motor condition/higher scores on the Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III (MDS-UPDRS part III) compared to patients who did not take these drugs, mainly at the expense of worsened bradyhypokinesia.
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