title: Excessive fragmentary myoclonus in patients with Parkinson's disease: prevalence and clinico-polysomnographic profile.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Excessive fragmentary myoclonus (EFM) is characterized by subtle arrhythmic and excessive jerks that are usually asymmetric and asynchronous. EFM occurs in different areas of the body, mainly the face and distal parts of the arms and legs, and is detected by surface electromyography during sleep. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of EFM in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients at a tertiary level outpatient clinic as well as to describe the clinical and polysomnographic profiles of these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 62 consecutive PD patients were included in the study. Patients were evaluated using the Brazilian version of the PD Sleep Scale, Portuguese Language version of Epworth's Daytime Sleepiness Scale validated for Brazilian population, Brazilian Portuguese version of PD Quality of Life Scale, and Global Deterioration Scale. Evaluation of the sleep disorders was performed by clinical interview and polysomnography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  EFM was found in 62.7% of PD patients. EFM was found to be associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and advanced age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EFM occurs in a significantly high proportion of PD patients and is related to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and advanced age, so EFM should be systematically investigated by polysomnography (PSG) in PD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Sciences of Behavior, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, manoelsobreira@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Manoel Alves
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sobreira-Neto
authors.forename: Márcio Alexandre
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pena-Pereira
authors.forename: Emmanuelle Silva Tavares
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Sobreira
authors.forename: Marcos Hortes Nisihara
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chagas
authors.forename: Vitor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tumas
authors.forename: Regina Maria França
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Alan Luiz
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Eckeli
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020189:Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology