Use of complementary and alternative therapies in outpatients with Parkinson's disease in Argentina

• Published in: Movement disorders Vol. 25; no. 13; pp. 2094 - 2098
• Main Authors: Pecci, Cristina, Rivas, Maria J., Moretti, Carolina M., Raina, Gabriela, Ramirez, Carlos Zúñiga, Díaz, Sergio, Uribe Roca, Claudia, Micheli, Federico E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 15-10-2010; Wiley
• Subjects: acupuncture; Aged; alternative therapies; Argentina - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; complementary; Complementary Therapies - statistics & numerical data; Cross-Sectional Studies; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Female; Follow-Up Studies; homeopathy; Humans; Male; massage; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurology; Outpatients; Parkinson; Parkinson Disease - epidemiology; Parkinson Disease - therapy; Severity of Illness Index; Socioeconomic Factors; Time Factors; yoga; South America; Argentina; America; Nervous system diseases; Parkinson disease; yoga; complementary; Parkinson; Cerebral disorder; Homeopathy; Treatment; alternative therapies; Central nervous system disease; Degenerative disease; Acupuncture; Ambulatory; Massage; Extrapyramidal syndrome
• ISSN: 0885-3185; 1531-8257
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.23235

We interviewed 300 patients (54.7% male; mean age was 65.8 ± 9.5) attending the Movement Disorders Clinic at the Buenos Aires University Hospital to determine the prevalence of CATs use and their association with demographic, social, or disease‐specific characteristics among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We found that 25.7% of the PD patients interviewed (77/300) stated they had used CATs to improve their PD symptoms whereas 38.0% (114/300) had used some CATs without any relation to PD, at least once in life. At the moment of the interview, CATs prevalence use was 50.6% in the former group and 25.0% in the latter. The use of CATs was much more frequent among women and more common in the 50‐ to 69‐year age group. Friends and neighbors of the patients had most frequently recommended these therapies. No major association was observed between CATs use and the duration of the disease, side of initial involvement, PD phenotype, or the Hoehn and Yahr staging. Acupuncture, homeopathy, yoga, and therapeutic massage were the most widely used therapies. After the initiation of conventional treatment the use of massage, yoga, and acupuncture in patients using CATs to improve PD significantly increased. Neurologists should be aware and inquire about the use of CATs to rule out potentially harmful effects. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society