Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)
Assesses signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease as part of diagnosis and progression monitoring.
Refer to the text below the calculator for more information about the UPDRS and its scoring.
The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) is a rating tool that includes series of ratings for typical Parkinson’s symptoms which result in the movement hindrances of this disease.
The UPDRS consist of four sections:
- Mentation, Behavior And Mood
- Activities Of Daily Living (for both “on” and “off”)
- Motor Examination
- Complications Of Therapy (In the past week)
The Hoehn and Yahr Staging and Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale are also included.
The UPDRS scoring consists of 4 subscores of its sections, an overall score and 2 results of the scales:
- UPDRS score – points scored out of 199 possible, which are grouped in four sections:
I. Mentation, Behavior And Mood;
II. Activities Of Daily Living (for both “on” and “off”);
III. Motor Examination;
IV. Complications Of Therapy (In the past week).
- The Hoehn and Yahr Staging – stage 0 to stage 5;
- Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale – 0 to 100%.
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Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Explained
The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) is a rating tool that includes series of ratings for typical Parkinson’s symptoms which result in the movement hindrances of this disease.
The UPDRS consist of four sections:
- I. Mentation, Behavior And Mood
- II. Activities Of Daily Living (for both “on” and “off”)
- III. Motor Examination
- IV. Complications Of Therapy (In the past week)
The Hoehn and Yahr Staging and Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale are also included.
The UPDRS is administered by interview and clinical observation, with some items requiring multiple grades for each extremity.
The UPDRS was originally published in 1987 and is still one of the most commonly used tools for following the longitudinal course of Parkinson’s disease. A modified version, sponsored by the Movement Disorders Society, the MDS-UPDRS was published in 2007 as a copyrighted tool at a cost.
UPDRS scoring
The UPDRS scoring consists of 4 subscores of its sections, an overall score and 2 results of the scales:
UPDRS result | Scoring |
UPDRS score (42 items) | Points out of 199 |
I. Mentation, Behavior And Mood (items 1 – 4) | Points out of 16 |
II. Activities Of Daily Living (items 5 – 17) | Points out of 52 |
III. Motor Examination (items 18 – 31) | Points out of 108 |
IV. Complications Of Therapy (32 – 42) | Points out of 23 |
The Hoehn and Yahr Staging | Stages 0 to 5 |
Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale | 0 to 100% |
The lowest score on the overall UPDRS is 0, indicating an absence of signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease, whilst the highest score is 199, indicating most severe level of disability due to Parkinson’s.
References
Original reference
Fahn S, Elton R, Members of the UPDRS Development Committee. In: Fahn S, Marsden CD, Calne DB, Goldstein M, eds. Recent Developments in Parkinson’s Disease, Vol 2. Florham Park, NJ. Macmillan Health Care Information 1987, pp 15 3-163, 293-304.
Validation
Ramaker C, Marinus J, Stiggelbout AM, Van Hilten BJ. Systematic evaluation of rating scales for impairment and disability in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord. 2002; 17(5):867-876.
Other references
Goetz CG, Tilley BC, Shaftman SR, et al. Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS): scale presentation and clinimetric testing results. Mov Disord. 2008; 23(15):2129-2170.
Specialty: Neurology
Objective: Assessment
Year Of Study: 1987
Abbreviation: UPDRS
Article By: Denise Nedea
Published On: July 23, 2020 · 12:00 AM
Last Checked: July 23, 2020
Next Review: July 23, 2025