Progression of MDS-UPDRS Scores Over Five Years in De Novo Parkinson Disease from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative Cohort

Background: The Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) is a commonly used tool to measure progression in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Longitudinal changes in MDS-UPDRS scores in patients with de novo PD have not been established. The objective of this study was to determine progression rates of MDS-UPDRS scores in de novo PD. Methods: In total, 362 participants from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative, a multicenter, longitudinal cohort study of de novo PD, were included. Longitudinal progression of MDS-UPDRS total and subscale scores were modeled using mixed model regression. Results: MDS-UPDRS scores increased in a linear fashion over 5years in patients with de novo PD. MDS-UPDRS total scores increased an estimated 4.7 points per year, Part I scores increased 0.92 points per year, Part II scores increased 0.99 points per year, and Part III scores increased 2.4 points per year. Conclusions: The expected average progression of MDS-UPDRS scores in patients with de novo PD from this study can assist in clinical monitoring and provide comparative data for the detection of disease modification in treatment trials.