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Review
. 2015 Aug 29;386(9996):896-912.
doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61393-3. Epub 2015 Apr 19.

Parkinson's disease

Lorraine V Kalia  1 , Anthony E Lang  2
Affiliations
Review

Parkinson's disease

Lorraine V Kalia et al. Lancet. .

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder with evolving layers of complexity. It has long been characterised by the classical motor features of parkinsonism associated with Lewy bodies and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. However, the symptomatology of Parkinson's disease is now recognised as heterogeneous, with clinically significant non-motor features. Similarly, its pathology involves extensive regions of the nervous system, various neurotransmitters, and protein aggregates other than just Lewy bodies. The cause of Parkinson's disease remains unknown, but risk of developing Parkinson's disease is no longer viewed as primarily due to environmental factors. Instead, Parkinson's disease seems to result from a complicated interplay of genetic and environmental factors affecting numerous fundamental cellular processes. The complexity of Parkinson's disease is accompanied by clinical challenges, including an inability to make a definitive diagnosis at the earliest stages of the disease and difficulties in the management of symptoms at later stages. Furthermore, there are no treatments that slow the neurodegenerative process. In this Seminar, we review these complexities and challenges of Parkinson's disease.

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