Italian Validation of the Revised MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale

Italian Validation of the Revised MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale

The present study is part of an international program and deals with the translation and validation program for the Italian version of the MDS-UPDRS.

The program will be articulated in three steps:

• Phase I: translation and back-translation of the MDS-UPDRS in Italian (completed)
• Phase II: Cognitive testing. This step is aimed at a preliminary testing of a subset of potentially culturally sensitive items in a limited set of PD patients (approximately 10). Should this phase identify issues in the understanding and ease of use of some items a revised translation of some individual items might be envisaged.
• Phase III: large validation testing: this phase will involve 350 PD patients from 12-14 Italian PD centres.

The IRIS protocol deals with phase II and III of the program.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Written and signed informed consent;
• native Italian-speaking patients or either sex;
• patients suffering from Parkinson's disease ranging from mild to severe, based on clinical judgement;
• presence of a native Italian-speaking caregiver.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with evidence of other central nervous system disorders;
• patients with a degree of depression or dementia which may prevent and/or affect ratings.