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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Depression in patients with Parkinson's disease | | Author(s) | Jeffrey L Cummings, Donna L Masterman |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 14, no 9, September 1999 |
| Pages | pp 711-718 |
| Keywords | Depression ; Parkinson's disease ; Drugs ; Literature reviews. |
| Annotation | Parkinson's disease (PD) is a disabling neurodegenerative condition commonly complicated by the existence of comorbid depression. The prevalence rates of depression in this patient group have been reported to be as high as 40%. Currently, depression in PD is undertreated; and there have been few clinical trials of antidepressants for this patient group. Patients with PD are usually older people taking a range of medication, so that choice of antidepressant must be made with care. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) have been studied in patients with PD and comorbid depression. However, the risk of anticholinergic side effects means that their use is largely avoided. Selected serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have comparable efficacy to the TCAs and a better tolerability profile in patients with depression; they are rapidly being considered as first-line therapy for PD patients with depression. Clinical studies in this patient group are warranted. This article reviews the characteristics of comorbid depression in patients with PD and discusses the treatment options available. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-000114202 A |
| Classmark | ENR: CR6: LLD: 64A |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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