The 200-year journey of Parkinson disease: Reflecting on the past and looking towards the future

At the same time that the alpha-synuclein era was developing, clinical advances took place by recognizing PD as hosting a wide variety of nonmotor features with eventual cognitive impairment in many. Therapeutics has also evolved. Although the most effective therapy for the motor features remains levodopa, surgical approaches and drugs for nonmotor problems continue to expand our ability to treat people with PD. We can expect therapeutic advances in neuroprotection as the basic science discoveries uncovered in the alpha-synuclein era are translated into effective treatments.