Psychiatric complications of Parkinson's disease:: Their symptoms and treatment

Introduction and development. Psychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease are relatively frequent, with a variation between 10 and 50%, according to different publications. They generally occur after several years of treatment. They may be symptoms derived from the disease itself or linked to the treatment used. These complications vary and include anxiety, affective and psychotic (hallucinations, delirium) disorders, as well as other alterations such as sexual, sleep and cognitive problems. Conclusions. Treatment must always be tailor-made to suit each individual and in many cases we have to resort to lowering or withdrawing the dopaminergic medication while, in others, treatment with benzodiazepines, antidepressants and atypical neuroleptic drugs is indicated.