DAY-NIGHT VARIATION OF URINE VOLUME IN PARKINSONS-DISEASE

Studies on the circadian rhythm of urine excretion in healthy men have demonstrated that the maximal urine flow occurs in the early afternoo n and the minimal around midnight. In this study, an abnormality in th e variation of urine volume was found in parkinsonian patients. Urine samples were collected during daytime (9:00-21:00) and nighttime (21:0 0-9:00). Fifteen healthy control subjects were examined and found to e xcrete 60% during the daytime and 40% during the nighttime of the tota l urine volume. Sixteen parkinsonian patients excreted 43% during the daytime and 57% during the nighttime. In contrast to the control subje cts, the parkinsonian patients excreted a smaller volume of their urin e during the daytime than during the nighttime. This finding might be related to the degeneration of dopaminergic and/or nondopaminergic neu rons in the brain which control urinary excretion.