[Medical treatment of Parkinson's disease in elderly and multimorbid patients].
[Medical treatment of Parkinson's disease in elderly and multimorbid patients].
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Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease is a frequent neurodegenerative disease, which typically occurs in older age. With progression of the disease, therapeutic complications, such as dyskinesias and fluctuations in the response to medication are common. To embed the medication of Parkinson's disease into a complex treatment plan of a patient suffering from multimorbidity can be challenging. OBJECTIVES: Not only the cardinal motor symptoms have to be treated properly but also the non-motor symptoms e.g. depression, dementia, autonomic dysregulations and gastrointestinal disorders. Pharmacological treatment and their risks are presented. CONCLUSION: Especially in older patients the symptoms need to be treated with regard to multimorbidity and the risks of polypharmacotherapy. The therapeutic strategy needs to be carefully planned in order to achieve a high quality of life and social interaction.