Wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonism

Levodopa is the most common therapy to reduce motor symptoms of parkinsonism. However, levodopa has potential to exacerbate cardiovascular autonomic (CVA) dysfunction that may co-occur in patients. Heart rate variability (HRV) is the most common method for assessing CVA function, but broader monitor...

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Main Authors: John A. Berkebile, Omer T. Inan, Paul A. Beach
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Network Physiology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnetp.2025.1543838/full
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author John A. Berkebile
Omer T. Inan
Omer T. Inan
Paul A. Beach
author_facet John A. Berkebile
Omer T. Inan
Omer T. Inan
Paul A. Beach
author_sort John A. Berkebile
collection DOAJ
description Levodopa is the most common therapy to reduce motor symptoms of parkinsonism. However, levodopa has potential to exacerbate cardiovascular autonomic (CVA) dysfunction that may co-occur in patients. Heart rate variability (HRV) is the most common method for assessing CVA function, but broader monitoring of CVA function and levodopa effects is typically limited to clinical settings and symptom reporting, which fail to capture its holistic nature. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of a multimodal wearable chest patch for monitoring changes in CVA function during clinical and 24-h ambulatory (at home) conditions in 14 patients: 11 with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and 3 with multiple system atrophy (MSA). In-clinic data were analyzed to examine the effects of orally administered levodopa on CVA function using a pre (OFF) and 60-min (ON) post-exposure protocol. Wearable-derived physiological markers related to the electrical and mechanical activity of the heart alongside vascular function were extracted. Pre-ejection period (PEP) and ratio of PEP to left ventricular ejection time index (LVETi) increased significantly (p<0.05) following levodopa, indicating a decrease in cardiac contractility. We further explored dose-response relationships and how CVA responses differed between participants with orthostatic hypotension (OH) from those without OH. Heart rate variability, specifically root-mean-square-of-successive-differences (RMSSD), following levodopa decreased significantly more in participants with OH (n = 7) compared to those without (no-OH, n = 7). The results suggest that the wearable patch’s measures are sensitive to CVA dynamics and provide exploratory insights into levodopa’s potential role in inducing a negative inotropic effect and exacerbating CVA dysfunction. This work encourages further evaluation of these wearable-derived physiomarkers for quantifying CVA and informing individualized care of individuals with parkinsonism.
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spelling doaj-art-d0cf434a91b84e53a1d34e5e8b22d8412025-08-20T02:12:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Network Physiology2674-01092025-04-01510.3389/fnetp.2025.15438381543838Wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonismJohn A. Berkebile0Omer T. Inan1Omer T. Inan2Paul A. Beach3School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United StatesSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United StatesWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United StatesLevodopa is the most common therapy to reduce motor symptoms of parkinsonism. However, levodopa has potential to exacerbate cardiovascular autonomic (CVA) dysfunction that may co-occur in patients. Heart rate variability (HRV) is the most common method for assessing CVA function, but broader monitoring of CVA function and levodopa effects is typically limited to clinical settings and symptom reporting, which fail to capture its holistic nature. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of a multimodal wearable chest patch for monitoring changes in CVA function during clinical and 24-h ambulatory (at home) conditions in 14 patients: 11 with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and 3 with multiple system atrophy (MSA). In-clinic data were analyzed to examine the effects of orally administered levodopa on CVA function using a pre (OFF) and 60-min (ON) post-exposure protocol. Wearable-derived physiological markers related to the electrical and mechanical activity of the heart alongside vascular function were extracted. Pre-ejection period (PEP) and ratio of PEP to left ventricular ejection time index (LVETi) increased significantly (p<0.05) following levodopa, indicating a decrease in cardiac contractility. We further explored dose-response relationships and how CVA responses differed between participants with orthostatic hypotension (OH) from those without OH. Heart rate variability, specifically root-mean-square-of-successive-differences (RMSSD), following levodopa decreased significantly more in participants with OH (n = 7) compared to those without (no-OH, n = 7). The results suggest that the wearable patch’s measures are sensitive to CVA dynamics and provide exploratory insights into levodopa’s potential role in inducing a negative inotropic effect and exacerbating CVA dysfunction. This work encourages further evaluation of these wearable-derived physiomarkers for quantifying CVA and informing individualized care of individuals with parkinsonism.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnetp.2025.1543838/fullwearable sensingParkinson’s diseaseautonomic dysfunctioncardiovascular monitoringmultiple system atrophyparkinsonism
spellingShingle John A. Berkebile
Omer T. Inan
Omer T. Inan
Paul A. Beach
Wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonism
Frontiers in Network Physiology
wearable sensing
Parkinson’s disease
autonomic dysfunction
cardiovascular monitoring
multiple system atrophy
parkinsonism
title Wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonism
title_full Wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonism
title_fullStr Wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonism
title_full_unstemmed Wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonism
title_short Wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonism
title_sort wearable multimodal sensing for quantifying the cardiovascular autonomic effects of levodopa in parkinsonism
topic wearable sensing
Parkinson’s disease
autonomic dysfunction
cardiovascular monitoring
multiple system atrophy
parkinsonism
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnetp.2025.1543838/full
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