The articles listed on this page are from a variety of sources. 
1. The staff of DBS-STN often attends conferences or educational opportunities both nationally and internationally, and a brief understandable write-up of the information presented at the event will be provided for our readers to review. 
2. DBS-STN staff also identifies or writes various articles related to topics that are thought to be of interest for the reader of www.DBS-STN.org. 

Browse by Topic:
Search:

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease


2010-07-26

Neuropsychiatric symptoms, or mental disorders associated with nervous system dysfunction, are common features of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that affect a majority of patients with PD. Since these symptoms significantly impact patient quality of life and worsen the functional impairment already experienced in PD, researchers are concerned with developing better, more efficient ways of clinically approaching these symptoms.

Accordingly, a team of researchers composed of Dr. Dag Aarsland of Stavanger University Hospital (Norway), Dr. Laura Marsh of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD) and Dr. Anette Schrag of University College Department of Clinical Neurosciences (England), published an article reviewing the findings of several research studies on neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD. This review, published in the Movement Disorders Journal (Vol. 24, Issue 15), discusses the causes, clinical features, diagnosis and management of some of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD patients, including:

  • Depression, a psychiatric condition characterized by sadness and emotional withdrawal;
  • Anxiety, a state of apprehension or mental tension;
  • Apathy, a debilitating lack of interest or motivation;
  • Fatigue, a state of extreme physical or mental exhaustion;
  • Psychosis, a severe mental disorder usually causing impaired sense of reality.

   
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this article review is to address the need for more conclusive clinical studies on these neuropsychiatric symptoms, as well as to evaluate existing research findings on the management (both drug-related and non drug-related) of these symptoms.

The study is available here by downloading the PDF file.


If you have any questions or comments on this article, please visit our Forum where we welcome your feedback.

Article Archive

back