Objective To investigate the characteristics and the correlative factors of constipation in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.Methods The demographic information,clinical features and history of medications of 193 patients with idiopathic PD consulting in the outpatient department of the First Affiliated Hospital,Anhui Medical University were collected.Patients were evaluated using following scales:Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Ⅲ (UPDRS Ⅲ),Hoehn-Yahr stage,Bristol Scoring Scale,Cleveland Constipation Scoring Scale (CCS),Scale for Outcomes in PD-autonomic for Autonomic Symptoms,Simple Food Frequency Questionnaire,Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD),Mini Mental State Examination.The patients were divided into constipation group and non-constipation group based on Rome Ⅲ Criteria for Diagnosis of Functional Constipation,and the correlative factors of constipation were compared and analyzed between the two groups.The severity of constipation and influencing factors were also compared between patients with early onset constipation (occurred before present of motor symptoms) and patients with late onset constipation (occurred after present of motor symptoms).The impacts of anti-PD medication adjustments on constipation were assessed by observing the alteration of constipation severity in 41 PD patients.Results The incidence of constipation was 56.4％ (109/193) in our cohort of PD patients,and 21.1％ (23/109) of constipation was severe according to the assessing by CCS.The spectrum of constipation symptoms included defecation straining (89.9％,98/109),poor stool output (67.9％,74/ 109),reduced stool frequency (63.3％,69/109) and dryness of stool (60.5％,66/109).The age,disease duration,scores of Hoehn-Yahr stage,UPDRS Ⅲ and HAMD,levodopa equivalent dose (LED),frequency of urination disturbance in constipation group were significantly higher than those in nonconstipation group,while the daily quantities of vegetable and water intake in constipation group were significantly lower than those in non-constipation group.Age and HAMD scores were the independent risk factors of constipation (OR=1.049,95％ CI 1.014-1.086,P=0.006;OR=1.316,95％ CI 1.185-1.461,P =0.000).Among the 109 constipation patients,the course of PD,scores of Hoehn-Yahr stage,UPDRSⅢ and LED were positively correlated with the severity of constipation (r =0.269,0.338,0.315,0.341,0.371,all P ＜ 0.05),with HAMD score being the independent risk factor of constipation severity (OR =1.175,95％ CI 1.044-1.322,P ＜ 0.05).The severity of constipation and risk factors of constipation in patients with early onset constipation were not distinct from those with late onset constipation.Conclusions The incidence of constipation increases with the increment of age,disease duration,Hoehn-Yahr stage,UPDRS Ⅲ scores,LED,HAMD scores,urination disorder severity and the decrement of daily water and vegetable intakes.The severity of constipation is positively related to the severity of motor symptoms,the daily dose of anti-PD drugs and depression levels.PD patients with early onset constipation are not distinct from the patients with late onset constipation in terms of severity and risk factors.The influences of anti-PD drugs on constipation are variable depending on the specific drug used and individual constitution.Individualized treatment regimes are proposed with respect to the management of constipation according to the specific risk factors in PD patients.

Objective:To study the features as well as the diagnosis and differential diagnosis values by conventional MRI morphometrics in different clinical subtypes of progressive supranuclear palsy(PSP).Methods:Forty five patients with PSP were included, comprising three PSP subtypes: 15 cases of Richardson's syndrome(PSP-RS), 15 cases of Parkinson's syndrome(PSP-P)and 15 cases of progressive frozen gait(PSP-PFG). In addition, three control groups were established: 15 cases of multiple system atrophy-Parkinson's syndrome(MSA-P), 30 cases of primary Parkinson's disease(PD)and 40 healthy controls(HC). Midbrain area-to-Pons area ratio(M/P), Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index(MRPI, MRPI2.0), width ratio of middle cerebellar peduncle to superior cerebellar peduncle(MCP/SCP), Midbrain-to-Pons ratio(MTPR), Angle of cerebral peduncle(A cp), third ventricle width/frontal horns width ratio(V 3rd/FH), and Humming bird sign rating scale(HBS-RS)scores were calculated.Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were performed by ROC curve to assess the accuracy of these imaging indicators in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of PSP and its subtypes. Results:The MRPI, MRPI2.0, MCP/SCP and HBS-RS scores were significantly higher in PSP group than in other control groups( H=69.351, 66.776, 33.926 and 84.694, all P<0.05), while M/P and MTPR were significantly lower in PSP group than in other control groups(H=60.101 and 77.276, all P<0.05). PSP group also had higher V 3rd/FH compared with PD or HC group( F=17.168, P<0.05), but not with MSA-P group( Z=-1.602, P>0.05). The above differences also existed between each PSP subgroup and control groups.Among PSP subgroups, PSP-PFG subgroup had a larger A cp than did PSP-RS( Z=-2.510, P<0.05), and had higher HBS-RS score than did PSP-P group( Z=-2.380, P<0.05). No significant differences in other MRI morphometric indexes were identified among PSP subtypes.The M/P, MRPI, MTPR, MRPI2.0, HBS-RS score showed good accuracy in diagnosing PSP and its each subgroup, with HBS-RS score being the most accurate indicator, when the cutoff value was 2, the AUC values were all higher than 0.99, and the sensitivity and specificity were all above 90%.PSP and its subtypes were best distinguished from MSA-P by MRPI, when the cutoff value was 9.94, the AUC values were all higher than 0.90, with the sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 86.67%.PSP and its subtypes were best distinguished from PD by MTPR, AUC values were all above 0.95, with slightly different cutoff values.Almost all the morphological measurement parameters failed to show significant sensitivity and specificity in discriminating subtypes of PSP.The sensitivity and specificity of almost all MRI morphometry indicators in differentiating different subtypes of PSP are not high. Conclusions:MRI morphometrics have a high value both in the diagnosis of PSP and its subtypes, and also in specific application fields.MRI morphometrics have a limited value in discriminating PSP subtypes.