Multifaceted Approach to Managing Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Parkinson Disease: Lucia Ricciardi, MD, PhD

WATCH TIME: 4 minutes

"It’s not the medication per se, but the increased load of dopamine in predisposed individuals that can trigger symptoms. We must be especially cautious in people with cognitive impairment, advanced disease, or older age, tailoring dopaminergic medication with these risk factors in mind."

Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) face a gamut of neuropsychiatric symptoms, including mood disorders, impulse control disorders, hallucinations, disinhibition, aberrant motor behavior, and nighttime behavior disorder. Among the most common, and most important, neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD are depression, anxiety, apathy, and psychosis. Approximately 30-40% of patients with the disease have significant depressive symptoms, with lower prevalence rates in population-based studies.

At the 2024 International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (MDS), held from September 27 to October 1 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a session addressed neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Lucia Ricciardi, MD, PhD, a consultant neurologist and senior lecturer at St. George’s Hospital in London, focused on the clinical presentation of these symptoms and strategies for their identification and management. With years of research in the biological, behavioral, and psychological aspects of non-motor symptoms in PD and other movement disorders, Dr. Ricciardi shared valuable insights for clinicians.

During the conference, Ricciardi sat down with NeurologyLive^® to discuss some of the common neuropsychiatric symptoms faced by patients, explaining how these symptoms result from a complex interplay of disease-related, medication-related, medication-related, and social factors. She stressed how medication, especially dopaminergic treatments, can further contribute by triggering symptoms in predisposed individuals. Furthermore, she emphasized the need for personalized treatment strategies.

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