Management of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common and debilitating movement disorders. It affects a large number of the aging population and as the life expectancy of the average person increases, it will affect ever increasing numbers of people. Diagnostic accuracy remains problematic and treatment for some is unsatisfactory. New understanding of the mechanism behind neurodegeneration in this disease and the pathophysiology of the basal ganglia has helped in designing therapeutic paradigms. Patients diagnosed today have a far better quality of life than those diagnosed even 10 years ago, while patients diagnosed 10 years from now will fair even better. Research is advancing rapidly and will help to cure this disease in the next century.

• deep brain stimulation
• entacapone
• levodopa
• neuroprotection
• Parkinson’s disease
• pergolide
• pramipexole
• ropinirole
• selegiline