, , ,

The Parkinson’s disease pain classification system: results from an international mechanism-based classification approach

Pain Syndromes

Goal of the Study?

In this study, 1, the authors have developed a framework to differentiate Parkinson’s Disease (PD) pain from non-PD-related pain and classify PD-related pain into 3 groups based on already validated mechanistic pain descriptors – nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic. 

 

Why are they doing this study?

In Parkinson’s disease (PD), about 20% of patients experience chronic pain at diagnosis. This number climbs to 80% during the course of the disease. PD pain has been divided into three categories: de novo pain related to disease onset and symptoms (PD-related); previous chronic pain aggravated by the disease or treatment (PD-indirectly-related); pain that is neither caused nor aggravated by the disease (PD-unrelated). Moreover, pain is considered PD-related when one of the following applies: when occurring along with the first motor symptoms, when occurring/aggravated during the OFF stage of the disease, when occurring at the same time with choreatic dyskinesia or when improved by dopamine treatment. However, these categories have not been validated or tested, making diagnosing and treating pain in PD. In response to this need, the authors develop a classification system to define and distinguish PD-related pain from non-PD-related pain.

 

What was done?

The authors used an international, cross-sectional, multicenter study. They recruited 159 non-demented PD patients and 37 healthy controls across 4 centers. Using the mechanistic pain descriptors (nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic), the authors developed a PD pain classification system (PD-PCS) by including classic pain-related situations of PD into each category. The severity of PD-related pain syndromes was scored by ratings of intensity, frequency and interference with daily living activities. Finally, they did an analysis and validation of their scale.

 

What did they find?

This study provides a unifying system for pain in PD that differentiates between PD and non-PD pain and outlines a treatment-based and mechanistic classification system for PD-related pain. Using this system, the authors found that 77% of patients experienced PD-related pain, with 15% suffering more than one syndrome at the same time. PD-related pain with nociceptive, neuropathic or nociplastic components was diagnosed in 55%, 16% and 22% of participants, respectively. Mixed pain syndromes were mostly found in nociceptive pain combined with nociplastic (12.7%) or neuropathic (9.6%). Pain unrelated to PD was found in 22% of participants, versus only 5% of controls. 

Concerning the PD-PCS, the authors found that pain severity scores significantly correlated with commonly used questionnaires such as the pains’ Brief pain Inventory and McGill Pain questionnaire. They did not find that the PD-PCS scores correlated with a motor score.

Finally, they suggest that the three pain types identified by the PD-PCS are different pain syndromes and reflect different mechanistic backgrounds and, potentially, different treatment approaches.  For example, they found that patients with higher nociceptive pain scores had worse quality of life scores, but this was not found for patients with nociplastic pain. 

 

Why do these findings matter?

Better classification of pain in PD will ensure that PD patients’ pain is treated more effectively and timely, ultimately contributing to better outcomes.

 

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *