Electroconvulsive Therapy Can Prevent a Worsening of Psychosis and Dystonic Voice in PRKN-associated Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), an established treatment for psychiatric disorders, shows promise in alleviating both motor and non-motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We herein report a case of PRKN-associated PD presenting with characteristic psychosis and dystonic voice, which was effectively managed with maintenance ECT. A genetic analysis initially identified a single heterozygous PRKN deletion using multiple ligation-probe amplification. Subsequent Oxford Nanopore technology long-read sequencing revealed a second pathogenic variant, confirming a compound heterozygous PRKN mutation. This case highlights the utility of long-read sequencing in resolving genetic diagnoses and the potential of maintenance ECT for managing complex PD phenotypes.