Ocular dyskinesias in patients with Parkinson's disease treated with levodopa

Abnormal involuntary eye movements were found in 8 of 27 patients with Parkinson's disease who were receiving levodopa and dopa decarboxylase inhibitors. The dyskinetic eye movements were smooth, slow, “to‐and‐fro” ocular deviations of large amplitude. They were suppressed by visual fixation and were prominent only in darkness or behind closed lids when patients were alert. They generally appeared in conjunction with involuntary body and limb movements but could occur alone. Many of the patients with ocular dyskinesias had prominent “on‐off” responses to levodopa. Ocular dyskinesias were present in 8 of 10 patients with bodily dyskinesias. This suggests that if recording conditions are appropriate, these eye movements will commonly be found in patients with Parkinson's disease who develop abnormal involuntary bodily movements while they are receiving levodopa therapy.