Objective: Impulse control disorders are thought to emerge as a result of the pulsatile stimulation of dopamine D3 receptors in the limbic-ventral striatum with dopamine treatment. According to this pathophysiology, it is argued that the use of long-acting dopamine agonists leads to fewer impulse control disorders than the use of short-acting dopamine agonists. This study aimed to compare short and long-acting dopamine agonists with respect to impulse control disorders in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Materials and Methods: Seventy-five patients with Parkinson’s disease were examined with respect to impulse control disorders. All the patients were administered the Barratt Impulsivity Scale Short Form to determine impulsivity and the Movement Disorder Society- Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale to evaluate disease severity.
Results: There was no significant difference between the patient groups using short and long-acting dopamine agonists for impulsivity (p=0.966, p=0.052, respectively). The Barratt Impulsivity Scale scores were seen to be higher in the patients who were illiterate compared to the other educational level groups (p<0.001), and there was no significant difference in respect of other demographic data (p>0.05). Male gender (odds ratio [OR]: 4.000, 95% CI: 1.164–13.745, p=0.028) and a high score on the Movement Disorder Society- Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (OR: 3.636, 95% CI: 1.394–9.484, p=0.008) were found to be associated with impulse control disorders.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed no difference between short and long-acting dopamine agonists with respect to the development of impulse control disorders.