Read up on Parkinson's disease treatment options at Consumer Reports Health.

Parkinson's disease

Key points about treatments

Parkinson's disease affects how you move. For example, your hands may shake or your movements get stiff and slow. It's a serious disease but your symptoms may not bother you for several years. When they do, there are treatments that can help.

Parkinson's disease happens when your brain stops making enough of a chemical called dopamine. Brain cells need dopamine to send messages around your brain and to nerves and muscles throughout your body. With less dopamine, you can't control your movements in the usual way.

The main treatment for Parkinson's is the drug levodopa (also known as L-dopa). Everyone treated for Parkinson's takes levodopa at some point. The drug can work so well that your symptoms may clear up completely for a while.

But treating Parkinson's is complicated. There are unpleasant side effects to levodopa that can be permanent. And after a while it may not work so well. Doctors have tried many ways to make levodopa work for longer. So you may take a combination of medications to control your symptoms. See How doctors treat Parkinson's disease to learn more.

It's important to describe your symptoms well to your doctor. This will help your doctor find the right treatment for you.

Key messages for people with Parkinson's disease

Levodopa is the best medication for controlling the symptoms of Parkinson's. But it can stop working and cause side effects after about five years. The main problem it causes is abnormal movements you can't control, such as head nodding and twitches.
Younger people should try to put off starting levodopa until their symptoms are really causing problems.
Drugs called selegiline (brand names Eldepryl and Zelapar) and rasagiline (Azilect) can delay when you need to start taking levodopa. But they can cause side effects, too.
Drugs called dopamine agonists (brand names Parlodel, Requip and Mirapex) may improve your symptoms, without the same side effects as levodopa. But they can cause other side effects.
Taking two drugs together can improve your symptoms or reduce the side effects you get. Your might take levodopa with a dopamine agonist, or with drugs called entacapone (Comtan), tolcapone (Tasmar) or amantadine (Symmetrel). Or you might take a dopamine agonist and add levodopa. But taking two drugs can make some side effects worse.
Having a specialist nurse involved in your care can help you cope better with your disease.
Physical therapy and other therapies may help to keep you moving and doing things for yourself, but there's not much research on them.
Surgery can help in the later stages of Parkinson's disease. But the risks are high.

This information was last updated on Apr 14, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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