Photo Credit: PIKSEL

In a recent study, talk therapy in Parkinson’s disease led to significant improvement in patients’ well-being, problems/symptoms, and functioning.

Research has shown that psychological symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) diminish the QOL of patients and their partners. These non-motor symptoms, however, remain undiagnosed and undertreated in PD, according to findings published in the Journal of Neurology.

The study from Paola Piccini, MD, PhD, and colleagues who aimed to address this gap demonstrated that short-term talk therapy is beneficial for patients with PD with mild to moderate psychological symptoms.

Patients with PD with mild and moderate anxiety and depression seeking care at NHS movement disorder clinics in London were eligible for participation in the 12-week intervention. The patients could choose individual therapy or couples therapy. Depression was identified as a presentation characterized by melancholic feelings of grief or unhappiness for more than 6 months duration. Anxiety was identified as a presentation characterized by apprehension of danger and dread accompanied by restlessness, tension, tachycardia, or dyspnea unattached to a clearly identifiable stimulus. The primary outcome measure was total scores from the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) form.

Improvements in Well-Being, Symptoms, & Function

A total of 47 participants (patients with PD, n=40; partners, n=7), aged 63.60±11.37 and 67.00±6.75 years, respectively, were enrolled. Attendance rates were high with a mean value of 75.75%, relevant to the 12-session target. The researchers obtained evaluable CORE-OM data from 38 (80.85%) patients and partners.

Significant improvement in “well-being,” “problems/symptoms,” and “functioning” sub-scores of CORE-OM data from baseline to week 12 in the patient group were observed. The investigators noted CORE-OM data collected from partners did not allow appropriate statistical comparisons for inclusion. Risk sub-scores were low at both time points and there was no statistically significant change in the risk score over time.

The researchers explained that integrating talk therapy into therapeutics for PD introduces a holistic approach to clinical care, underscored by relevant CORE-OM scores in overall well-being.

The researchers noted the findings set the background for a discussion for research in mental health within the non-motor symptoms field of PD.

“We propose that psychotherapy should be integrated into personalized PD treatment plans and included in large-scale clinical research proposals in the field of mental health,” the authors concluded.