Minimizing Disability: An Overview of the Pervasiveness, Clinical Manifestations and Treatment of Depression in Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

This review was conducted to establish the degree to which depression can intensify and further complicate the difficulty of living with Parkinson's disease. The authors evaluated the literature on depression in Parkinson's disease, to better understand and report on its pervasiveness, clinical manifestations, and treatment. As a result of an extensive literature review, the analysis focused on Parkinson's disease depression research that has been conducted by the medical, social work, and psychological communities. The results suggest that nearly one third of all Parkinson's patients had some form of depression over the course of their disease. The clinical manifestations of Parkinson's disease depression are daunting including yet not limited to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, psychomotor retardation, memory impairment, irrational thought processes, and suicidal ideation. Parkinson's disease depression can be successfully treated with a multiplicity of antidepressants. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, or sertraline are the most effective in treating depression, and hence the most commonly prescribed.