Combating psychosis in Parkinson's disease patients: the use of antipsychotic drugs

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients commonly experience psychotic symptoms, with the most frequent manifestation being visual hallucinations. In PD, psychosis is predominantly drug induced and an important issue for clinicians to address as it increases the risk of nursing home placement as well as mortality. This review summarises the current knowledge regarding the clinical manifestations, pathophysiology and risk factors for drug-induced psychosis in patients with PD and focuses on treatment, especially with regard to the atypical antipsychotics.