Treatment of idiopathic Parkinson's disease: an update

Since 196 1, levodopa has been the most effective treatment for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). However, its long-term use often causes late complications including response fluctuations and abnormal involuntary movements. As merely a symptomatic treatment, this drug does not prevent the disease progression. With advent of new drugs, several approaches have attempted either to delay the disease progression or to prevent the late complications related to levodopa therapy. In addition, the new surgical techniques such as fetal dopaminergic cell transplantation and deep brain stimulation (DBS) have shown some promising results. Here we review the most recent information on treatment of PD to show the new trends for the effective therapeutic strategies. We also briefly discuss the possible new therapy in the future.