Managing fatigue in patients with Parkinson's disease: a patient-focused perspective

Abstract:

Fatigue, experienced as a significantly diminished energy level or an increased perception of effort disproportionate to attempted activities or general activity level, is being increasingly recognized as a common and disabling problem in patients with Parkinson’s disease. There are no commonly accepted criteria to diagnose fatigue in Parkinson’s disease and there is limited evidence regarding treatment of this symptom. This article reviews the current knowledge surrounding fatigue in Parkinson’s disease, including symptoms, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment, with a focus on the patient’s perspective.

Keywords::

• Parkinson’s disease
• fatigue
• diagnosis
• treatment

Disclosure

Dr Chou receives research support from the National Institute of Health (grants NS044504-08 and NS091856-01) and the Michael J Fox Foundation, participates as a site-principal investigator in clinical trials sponsored by the Huntington Study Group (2CARE) and Parkinson Study Group (STEADY-PDIII), receives royalties from UpToDate, receives royalties from Demos Health for his book Deep Brain Stimulation; A New Life for People with Parkinson’s, Dystonia, and Essential Tremor, and serves as a consultant for Accordant, Advanced Medical, and Cynapsus Therapeutics.

The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.