Prognosis of Parkinson's disease: Time to stage III, IV, V, and to motor fluctuations

We report a long-term outcome on a large cohort of Japanese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). A total of 1,768 (793 men, 975 women) consecutive patients visited our clinic from 1 January 1989 to 31 December 2002. Among them, 1,183 patients (531 men, 652 women) came to our clinic within 5 years from the onset of disease and at the Hoehn 49.7% of men and 63.3% of women reached Stage III by the end of the 10th year, and 88.9% of men and 79.9% of women by the end of the 15th year (P < 0.001). Also, durations to develop wearing off and dyskinesia were shorter in women compared to men. These data suggest that the disease progression may be slightly faster for women. Young-onset patients showed significantly longer duration to reach Stage III, IV, and V but shorter duration to develop wearing off and dyskinesia. Not many studies are available in the literature on the long-term outcome of PD, and our data would be useful as a reference.