Patanè, Gaia

Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive degenerative disease affecting people at any age; however, it is generally more prevalent in older age groups. Younger individuals, especially women, are facing significant challenges that pertain to pregnancy. Unfortunately, the available information is limited and supported mostly by anecdotical experience. Objective To gain insight into the interaction between early-onset PD and pregnancy. Methods We report on a case series of women, diagnosed with PD, that underwent pregnancy to explore the disease catachrestic, natural history, and different challenges associated with these unique group of people. Results We identified a total of 9 participants who met our inclusion criteria, who had gone through a total of 12 pregnancies after onset of PD motor symptoms. In 10 out of 12 pregnancies, participants did not use any PD medication; throughout 1 pregnancy, a participant used pramipexole and throughout 1 pregnancy, a participant used levodopa/carbidopa. Conclusions Our study supports the importance of further multicentric studies on pregnant women with PD to prospectively collect data on complications, birth outcomes, lactation, and PD severity.