Electrogastrographyc activity in Parkinson's disease patients with and without motor fluctuations.
Gastroenteric dysfunctions are very common in Parkinson's disease, but their relationship with dopaminergic response and motor fluctuations is still unclear. Electrogastrography is a noninvasive method for measuring gastric myoelectrical activity. We evaluated the effects of levodopa intake on the motility of empty stomachs in Parkinson's disease patients with and without motor fluctuations. The electrogastrography findings showed a normal pattern not influenced by levodopa intake, unrelated to plasmatic levodopa concentrations and to clinical parameters. Our results suggest that at rest gastric activity of Parkinson's disease patients is normal and plasmatic levodopa variability is not influenced by gastric motility.