Drug Treatments, Protective Treatments and Surgery for Parkinson’s Disease

There are many treatment options for those with Parkinson’s disease. Your doctor will give you treatment options that are currently available and guide you to resources where you can learn about the disease and the treatment options that are available to alleviate or reduce the symptoms of the disease that you are experiencing. Treatment options generally include medications, dietary changes, exercises, alternative methods, protective methods and surgery.

Your doctor will tell you to rest and to remember to exercise your body so that you strengthen your muscles to improve your balance and coordination as well as your walking gait. Physical therapy, and speech therapy will become a part of your life now that you have Parkinson’s disease.

Drug Treatments:

The medications will not cure Parkinson’s disease but they can reduce some of the symptoms and allow you to rest better. Commonly used medications include Levodopa or L-dopa, and other medications that may be used along with Levodopa or in place of it. These other medications include amantadine, anticholinergic and selegiline.

You may know Levodopa as Sinemet® or Atamet® or Madopar®–not available in the United States and extended release preparations of Levodopa may be known as Sinemet CR® or Madopar HBS®. Side effects from these medications include nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, dizziness, hallucinations, or other psychosis and confusion.

COMT inhibitors include entacapone, and tolcapone (not available in Canada or Europe). Side effects for these medications include diarrhea.

Dopamine agonists include apomorphine, bromocriptine, cabergoline, lisuride, pergolide, and pramipexole. Side effects from these medications include nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, dizziness, lightheadedness upon standing, and drowsiness.

Protective Treatments:

Protective treatments are those methods that impact the management of the disease but are not able to stop the progression of the disease or delay the onset of the disease. Coenzyme Q-10 is one of the protective treatments. This preparation affects the energy-generating mechanisms of cells.

There are many experimental treatments that patients must only undergo under the management of the doctor caring for their disease.

Surgical Treatments:

Surgical treatments include neurosurgical procedures for Parkinson’s disease such as Pallidotomy, deep brain stimulation procedures, thalamic stimulation, pallidal stimulation, and subthalamic nucleus. The benefits to surgery are to make movement in the state of being off medication like the movement of being on-medication but without the side effects. There is however risks involved in any type of surgery and these risks must be compared to the benefits.

Additional information about drugs, protective treatments and surgery can be found at the Parkinson Study Group (PSG) HYPERLINK "http://www.parkinson-study-group.org" http://www.parkinson-study-group.org and at the National Institute of Mental Health HYPERLINK "http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/research/etb/index1.htm" http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/research/etb/index1.htm

Your doctor will change your treatment plan as the disease progresses and the patient should take an active role in designing the treatment plan. Education plays an important role in knowing what the current successful treatment options are for any disease. Being a part of Parkinson’s disease organizations is an excellent way of being able to keep abreast of new developments in drug treatment, protective treatments, and surgery for those with Parkinson’s disease.

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