Parkinson's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Parkinson's Disease, including details on symptoms, treatment, genetics, medication.

Assessment of hallucinations in Parkinson's disease using a novel scale.

Wada-Isoe K, Ohta K, Imamura K, Kitayama M, Nomura T, Yasui K, Nakaso K, Nakashima K

Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan. kewada@grape.med.tottori-u.ac.jp

OBJECTIVE: To assess hallucinations in Parkinson's disease (PD), we developed a novel practical rating scale that evaluates five items including variety, frequency, and severity of hallucinations, caregiver burden levels, and psychiatric status at nighttime. METHODS: Forty-one PD patients and their caregivers were examined regarding the status of the hallucinations associated with PD. RESULTS: As a measure of internal consistency, the Tottori University Hallucination Rating Scale (TUHARS) has a Cronbach's alpha of 0.88. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Hoehn-Yahr stage were associated with the TUHARS scores in a multivariate regression analysis. Visual hallucinations are the most common. However, half of the patients who reported visual hallucinations also had other hallucinations. The scale scores in the PD patients with dementia (PDD) group were significantly greater than in the PD patients without dementia (PDnD) group. CONCLUSIONS: TUHARS appears to be a suitable and easily administered instrument for assessment of hallucinations in PD. PD patients experienced various kinds of hallucinations. Hallucinations may have a close relationship with cognitive decline in PD patients.

Published 21 December 2007 in Acta Neurol Scand, 117(1): 35-40.
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