background Psychiatric symptoms are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and may complicate treatment.
aim To review the prevalence and treatment options of psychiatric symptoms in PD patients and discuss the dilemmas that may arise.
method Literature review.
results Psychiatric complaints, including depression, anxiety, apathy, impulse control disorders, hallucina-tions, delusions, sleep disturbances, and cognitive symptoms, frequently occur in PD patients. These symptoms have a great influence on the general functioning and quality of life of the patient. When treating these symptoms, adjusting neurological treatment and starting or adjusting psychotherapeutic or psychopharmacological treatment may be necessary. Even if individual symptoms can often be treated adequately, unwanted side effects in other symptom domains have to be taken into consideration.
conclusion Adequate treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD patients is complex, and requires close multidisciplinary collaboration, especially in more advanced disease stages.