Whilst some studies investigated the impact of viral infection or reduced access to medication during the COVID-19 pandemic in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), data on the effects of pandemic restrictions are still scarce. In this study the authors retrospectively analyzed motor symptoms of longitudinally followed PD patients (n = 264) and compared motor disease progression before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, they performed a trend analysis of the yearly evolution of motor symptoms in 755 patients from 2016 until 2021 observing a worsening of motor symptoms and a significantly increased motor disease progression during pandemic-related restrictions as compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Ineichen C, Baumann-Vogel H, Sitzler M, Waldvogel D, Baumann CR. Worsened Parkinson’s Disease Progression: Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Parkinsons Dis. 2021 Aug 8. doi: 10.3233/JPD-212779.