Parkinson's disease: A review

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is a common movement disorder seen in neurological practice, but the diagnosis and management is challenging. The diagnosis is clinical and sometimes difficult, considering a large number of motor and non-motor symptoms in PD patients. The medical management of PD patients is difficult, as choices of drugs are limited and levodopa is the mainstay of treatment. However, levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) is commonly seen in Parkinson's disease patients treated with levodopa. This side effect is usually encountered after a long duration of treatment, but occasionally, this may be seen even after a few days or months of treatment. Different types of surgical approaches, including unilateral pallidotomy and deep brain stimulation, have given very good results in PD patients, who cannot be managed by medications alone.

Keywords: Deep brain stimulation; Parkinson's disease; dopaminergic drugs.