Drug-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease: New surgical and pharmacotherapeutic approaches

SummaryPatients with drug-induced dyskinesias represent a growing cohort of Parkinson's disease cases, particularly the younger sufferers. Many describe their dyskinesias as more debilitating than the underlying mobility deficits. New understandings of underlying mechanisms and improved surgical procedures have advanced the treatment of dyskinesias. The popularity and growing success of deep brain stimulation (DBS) strategies suggests that such approaches will increase in number, particularly in centres that are fortunate to have good imaging capabilities and the necessary neurosurgical expertise. Clearly, a number of modulatory neurotransmitter systems can be targeted pharmacologically with new classes of drugs, based on preclinical studies and some early clinical reports, but time will tell us whether these new strategies will pan out.