Do treatments for psychiatric symptoms and Parkinson’s disease adversely affect each other?
This is a very controversial and complex area. Early in the course of Parkinson’s disease, a de novo case, for example, who has not been treated ever, often would respond with exposure to dopamine-replacement therapies, whether it is levodopa or dopamine agonists. For instance, some patients show improvements in psychomotor speed, attention, and concentration. However, the results are mixed, with some patients or cognitive abilities improving, and others worsening. Thus, it is difficult to offer a generalization in this regard. As patients advance in the course of their illness, where they age and the pathology becomes more severe, it seems more likely that the medications, if anything, are not beneficial to cognition. Rather, they may be potentially harmful, particularly with higher dosages when patients can become delirious or psychotic, which certainly has an effect on the cognition, as well. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), which is increasingly used as a treatment for Parkinson’s dis
