Treatment options for non-motor symptoms in late-stage Parkinson's disease

Late-stage Parkinson's disease is characterised by patients dependent on caregivers for their activities of daily living, even under the best levodopa benefit. Non-motor signs that overcome the well-known motor signs of Parkinson's disease dominate late-stage Parkinson's disease and few systematic data exist for the treatment of these signs. The objective of this study was to review the treatment options for Parkinson's disease dementia, psychosis, falls, bone fractures, joint and skeletal deformities, pain, orthostatic hypotension, gastrointestinal abnormalities and urological dysfunction in late-stage Parkinson's disease. The study analysed the available controlled clinical trials for the above medical conditions. When absent, data from case series and the authors' own experience was considered. Few controlled clinical trials specifically addressed late-stage Parkinson's disease as a target population. There is a need for therapeutic data on the symptoms that most afflict late-stage Parkinson's disease patients.