Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the exptrapyramidal system. Clinically, PD is regraded as a predominantly motor disorder, and the current therapies are aimed at managing this aspect of PD. However, the PD population is elderly and so often, a holistic approach, some may call it a “geriatric approach”, is not heeded by the managing team resulting in morbidity and prolonged hospitalization. In an upcoming issue of JNNP, Lubomski and colleagues address the issue of co-morbidities in PD in a large Australian cohort. Specifically, PD patients were more likely to suffer serious health problems, including delirium, adverse drug reactions, syncope, falls and fractures when compared to non-PD patients. Clearly, the health system needs to be resources to address such issues, and it may be time for neurologist to rest away much needed resources from the geriatric discipline.
Read more: http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2014/05/29/jnnp-2014-307822.abstract