Neuroinflammation may contribute to the cascade of events leading to neuronal loss in Parkinson's disease (PD) thus facilitating motor and autonomic impairment. A link between autonomic function and chronic and acute inflammation has been previously described. Specifically, active inflammatory state was associated with an overall increased sympathetic tone, whereas the parasympathetic cholinergic activation seemed to promote a decrease of inflammatory compounds in inflamed tissues. In addition, a functional link between peripheral sensory afferents and autonomic control has been reported. In a recent study it was observed that in PD patients a somatosensory activation by mechanical stimulation of specific sites of the fore-foot (effective stimulus, ES), improved gait, increased cardiac vagal modulation and decreased vascular sympathetic activity at rest. This latter effect was associated with a decline in arterial blood pressure values.

The present study is aimed at:

• Addressing the magnitude of the inflammatory state in PD patients.
• Testing the hypothesis that a change in the autonomic profile of PD patients induced by ES, consistent with cardiovascular increased parasympathetic and decreased sympathetic activities, may promote an overall reduction of the PD inflammatory state.