Case report: Levodopa challenge test is important in identifying dopamine-induced freezing of gait in patient with Parkinson's disease

Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Sep 4:18:1464152. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1464152. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: Freezing of gait (FOG) is a disabling and heterogeneous symptom in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Among them, dopamine-induced FOG is rare and difficult to identify. The treatment of dopamine-induced FOG is complex.

Case presentation: We herein presented a case of PD patient who complicated with refractory FOG. It was identified as dopamine-induced FOG during levodopa challenge test. Her symptoms were alleviated after we reduced the total equivalent dosage of levodopa.

Conclusion: Our report emphasizes the importance of levodopa challenge test in identifying different types of FOG, which is very important for further adjusting treatment.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; case report; dopamine-induced FOG; freezing of gait; levodopa challenge test.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The study was supported in part by funding from Zhejiang Provincial Medical Technology Program (2023RC215) and Wenzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (Y2023844).