Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Case Report

A case of Parkinson disease with heat retention due to sweating dysfunction

Yusuke Hazama, M.D., Yasuhiro Asou, M.D., Kenichiro Nakamura, M.D., Noriyuki Kimura, M.D. and Toshihide Kumamoto, M.D.

Department of General Internal Medicine III, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University

A 71-year-old man was diagnosed as Parkinson disease at age 59, and levodopa therapy was started. Eleven years after the beginning of treatment, he noticed high fever (38.0°C∼39.0°C) in July, but hyperthermia spontaneously disappeared three months later. In early July of the following year, he was re-admitted to our hospital because of continuous high fever, despite no any inflammation. Neurological examination revealed flexion posture of trunk and limbs and short step gait. He also presented limb rigidity, akinesia, and resting tremor during off period. Routine laboratory examinations and radiological examinations showed no remarkable findings. Autonomic testing revealed orthostatic hypotension and anhidrosis below trunk and lower limbs. By controlling the room temperature at 26°C, hyperthermia showed a marked decline. In despite of no reports found associations between heat retention and Parkinson disease, in this case we speculate hyperthermia was caused by heat retention.
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (540K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 50: 151|155, 2010)
key words: Parkinson disease, autonomic dysfunction, thermoregulation, sweating dysfunction, heat retention

(Received: 9-Jul-09)