| HOME | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
a Department of Geriatric Medicine, University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
b Department of Neurology, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Réne W.M.M. Jansen, 318, Department of Geriatric Medicine, University Medical Center Nijmegen, Post Office Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands E-mail: r.jansen{at}czzoger.azn.nl.
Decision Editor: John E. Morley, MB, BCh
Background. This study describes orthostatic and postprandial hypotension in elderly parkinsonian patients and evaluates the effect of levodopa therapy on orthostatic and postprandial hypotension in these patients.
Methods. Seventeen elderly patients with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease or parkinsonism based on the U.K. Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank criteria (age range, 66–84 years) participated in the study. Blood pressure was continuously monitored during standardized standing and meal tests, after starting 125-mg b.i.d. doses of levodopa/benserazide (Madopar) or placebo, in a double-blind, randomized, cross-over design. Seventeen age- and sex-matched healthy subjects served as controls.
Results. Orthostatic hypotension was infrequently found in parkinsonian patients (13%) and healthy subjects (6%; p = .58, between groups), whereas postprandial hypotension was more frequent in parkinsonian patients (82%) than in healthy subjects (41%; p < .05, between groups). Doses of levodopa/benserazide, administered 2 times per day, did not result in significantly larger blood pressure decreases after standing or eating, or in higher frequencies of orthostatic or postprandial hypotension in the parkinsonian group. Postprandial hypotension was related to disease severity (r = -.56, p < .05).
Conclusions. Postprandial hypotension, but not orthostatic hypotension, was more common in elderly parkinsonian patients than in healthy subjects. Therapy with 125-mg b.i.d. doses of levodopa/benserazide did not significantly aggravate orthostatic or postprandial hypotension.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  R. W. M. M. Jansen Postprandial Hypotension: Simple Treatment But Difficulties With the Diagnosis J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., October 1, 2005; 60(10): 1268 - 1270. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. C. M. Vloet, R. E. Pel-Little, P. A. F. Jansen, and R. W. M. M. Jansen High Prevalence of Postprandial and Orthostatic Hypotension Among Geriatric Patients Admitted to Dutch Hospitals J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., October 1, 2005; 60(10): 1271 - 1277. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. C. M. Vloet, R. Smits, and R. W. M. M. Jansen The Effect of Meals at Different Mealtimes on Blood Pressure and Symptoms in Geriatric Patients With Postprandial Hypotension J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., November 1, 2003; 58(11): M1031 - 1035. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. E. Morley Editorial: A Fall Is a Major Event in the Life of an Older Person J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., August 1, 2002; 57(8): M492 - 495. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. E. Morley and J. H. Flaherty Editorial: Putting the "Home" Back in Nursing Home J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., July 1, 2002; 57(7): M419 - 421. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. E. Morley Editorial: Drugs, Aging, and the Future J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., January 1, 2002; 57(1): M2 - 6. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. E. Morley Editorial: Postprandial Hypotension--The Ultimate Big Mac Attack J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., December 1, 2001; 56(12): M741 - 743. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|
