Clinical Characteristics of Juvenile Parkinson Disease in a Clinical Cohort
Capucine Piat1, Aidan Mullan2, Keith Coffman3, Rodolfo Savica4
1Nantes University Hospital, 2Mayo Clinic, 3Child Neurology, 4Neurology, Mayo Clinic
Objective:

To describe the frequency of motor and non-motor symptoms, family history, genetic mutations and treatment in a clinical cohort of 18 patients with Juvenile Parkinson Disease (JPD).

Background:

JPD is defined by an onset of Parkinson (PD) before the age of 21 years.

Design/Methods:

Patients with PD who presented to the Mayo Clinic from 1990 to 2022 were screened for inclusion. PD patients with a motor symptom onset before the age of 21 years were selected. We collected data on motor and non-motor symptoms, as well as genetics, imaging, medication and deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Results:

Eighteen JPD patients (7 males and 11 females) were included. The median age at motor onset was 18.8 years. Rest tremor occurred in 88.9%, bradykinesia in 88.9%, rigidity in 83.3% and impaired postural reflexes in 27.8% of patients.  The first motor symptom at onset was tremor for 83.3% patients, while dyskinesia occurred in 66.7% patients.

Reported non-motor symptoms were constipation (38.9%), urinary urgency (27.8%), sweat dysfunction (11.1%), orthostatic hypotension (27.8%), anosmia (5.6
%), sleep disorder (55.6%), cognitive impairment (55.6%), depression (72.2%), anxiety (55.6%), impulse control disorder (38.9%) and psychosis (16.7%).

Family history of PD was positive for 10 patients (55.6%). Genetic testing was done in 13 patients (72.2%), of which 8 were positive (6 for PRKN, 1 with mutations on POLG and TENM4, 1 with a SPG7 mutation). Four out of 6 DATscans were positive and 2 out of 4 PETscans were abnormal.

Levodopa and dopamine agonists were tried in 17 (94.4%) and 11 (61.1%) patients respectively. DBS was performed on 4 patients (22.2%).

Conclusions:

In cohort of 18 JPD patients, tremor was the first motor symptom for the majority of patients. Family history of PD was positive for half of our cohort and a third harbored a PRKN mutation.

10.1212/WNL.0000000000210739
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