Assessment of Wearing Off in Parkinson’s disease using objective measurement

Background Development of “Wearing Off” (WO) of motor and non-motor function in Parkinson’s disease (PD) adversely affects quality of life. This suggest that identifying and treating WO is important. However, identification of WO depends on people with PD (PwP) recognising and reporting WO and there is a perception that WO may be significantly underestimated. Objective We investigate the feasibility of identifying “Wearing Off” using objective measurement and assess the clinical benefit in rectifying it. Method In this study, 200 PwP were studied for evidence of WO using a continuously worn wearable system. Eighty-five patients (43%) were found to have WO and treatment was changed to mitigate the effects of WO. Results Factors, such as duration of disease, high baseline MDS-UPDRS (motor component), high Percent Time in Bradykinesia (PTB), high Levodopa Equivalent Daily Dose (LEDD), frequent Levodopa doses and younger age of onset, are associated with severity of motor complications. Patients with more severe WO experienced worse motor and non-motor symptoms and lower quality of life. Quality of life significantly improved in PwP when WO was treated. Conclusion The findings reported in this study provide evidence that identifying and treating WO improves outcomes of PwP and that objective measurements may help clinicians to identify and treat WO.