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Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) is a rating scale used to follow the longitudinal course of Parkinson's Disease. It is made up of the 1) Mentation, Behavior and Mood, 2) Activities of Daily Living and 3) Motor section. These are evaluated by interview. Some sections require multiple grades assigned to each of several sub-items.

History

The UPDRS was first introduced by the Movement Disorder Society (MDS) in the 1980s to address the need for a comprehensive assessment tool for Parkinson's Disease. It has since been revised and updated to improve its sensitivity and specificity.

Sections of the UPDRS

The UPDRS is divided into four sections, each of which assesses a different aspect of the disease.

Mentation, Behavior, and Mood

This section assesses intellectual impairment, thought disorder, depression, motivation/initiative, and anxiety.

Activities of Daily Living

This section assesses speech, salivation, swallowing, handwriting, cutting food, dressing, hygiene, turning in bed, falling, freezing, walking, and tremor.

Motor Examination

This section assesses speech, facial expression, tremor at rest, action or postural tremor, rigidity, finger taps, hand movements, rapid alternating movements of hands, leg agility, arising from chair, posture, gait, postural stability, and body bradykinesia and hypokinesia.

Complications of Therapy

This section assesses dyskinesias, clinical fluctuations, and other complications.

Scoring

Each section of the UPDRS is scored separately, with a higher score indicating more severe symptoms. The total score is then calculated by adding up the scores from each section.

Use in Clinical Practice

The UPDRS is widely used in clinical practice to assess the severity of Parkinson's Disease and to monitor the effectiveness of treatment.

See Also

• Parkinson's Disease
• Movement Disorder Society
• Clinical rating scales for Parkinson's Disease

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