Apomorphine can increase cutaneous inhibition of motor activity in Parkinson's disease

We studied the effect of non-nociceptive ipsilateral digital stimulation on EMG recorded from a small hand muscle before and after the administration of subcutaneous apomorphine in 6 patients with Parkinson's disease. All were receiving the drug to control ''on-off'' fluctuations in motor performance. Averaged rectified EMG was recorded from tonically contracted abductor pollicis brevis (APE) following index finger stimulation using a brief stimulus train. In 5 patients motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were also recorded from APB during tonic contraction. A conditioning stimulus train was applied to the index finger at intervals between 15 and 65 msec prior to the transcranial magnetic stimulus. After apomorphine administration the patient group showed a significant increase in both EMG and MEP inhibition induced by digital stimulation. In patients with Parkinson's disease who have marked motor fluctuations, the inhibitory response of upper limb motor neurones to low level digital cutaneous stimulation can be altered by dopamine agonists.