Temporal muscle thickness: A new tool to assess sarcopenia in Parkinson’s disease

Background and purpose Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder cha­ racterized by motor symptoms such as tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia. However, it can also lead to non-motor symptoms such as cognitive impairments and sarcopenia. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between screening and diagnostic methods for sarcopenia and temporal muscle thickness in Parkinson’s disease patients, and to assess the utility of temporal muscle thickness measurement as an indicator of sarcopenia. Methods An observational study was conducted with Parkinson’s disease patients in a single neurology clinic. A total of 38 patients were included. Temporal muscle thickness was measured manually using brain computed tomography and muscle strength was assessed with handheld dynamometer. Malnutrition risk, sarcopenia risk and functional disease stage (Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, Hoehn and Yahr stage) were also evaluated in entire group. Results The mean temporal muscle thickness and handgrip strength were 6.12±1.05 mm and 18.30±5.55 kg respectively. Mean disease duration was 8.13±3.11 years and the median H&Y stage was 2.21. There was a significant correlation between temporal muscle thickness and age (r=-0.326, p=0.046), SARC-F score (r=-0.738, p