Unusual compulsive behaviors primarily related to dopamine agonist therapy in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy

Abstract

Unusual compulsive behaviors (weighing, card and video game playing, fishing, gardening, intense interest in established hobbies, locking and unlocking doors, repetitive dressing and undressing) occurred in relation to dopamine agonist therapy (six patients) and levodopa therapy (one patient) in seven patients with parkinsonism (seven Parkinson's disease, one multiple system atrophy). These behaviors occurred in tandem with pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive eating, compulsive shopping or punding in six of the seven cases. Obsessive thoughts were present in one patient, with no prior history of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The simultaneous occurrence of these phenomenologically distinct behaviors in this group of patients suggests that a broad spectrum of psychopathology may occur in this context and should be monitored for in routine neurological practice.