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An Update on Medical and Surgical Treatments of Parkinson's Disease
Nemade D, Subramanian T, Shivkumar V.. Aging and disease, 2021-07-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and other neuronal populations. The worldwide prevalence of PD is over 7 million and has been increasing more rapidly than many other neurodegenerative disorders. PD symptoms can be broadly divided into motor (slowness, stiffness, tremor) and non-motor symptoms (such as depression, dementia, psychosis, orthostatic hypotension). Patients can also have prodromal symptoms of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, hyposmia, and constipation. The diagnosis of PD is mainly clinical, but dopamine transporter single-photon emission computed tomography can improve the accuracy of the diagnosis. Dopamine based therapies are used for the treatment of motor symptoms. Non-motor symptoms are treated with other medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (depression/anxiety), acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (dementia), and atypical antipsychotics (psychosis). Patients with motor fluctuations or uncontrolled tremor, benefit from deep brain stimulation. Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel is an alternative to deep brain stimulation for uncontrolled motor fluctuations. Rehabilitative therapies such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy are important during all stages of the disease. Management of PD is complex but there have been significant advancements in the treatment of motor and non-motor symptoms over the past few years. This review discusses the updates in the medical and surgical management of PD.
Key findings
- Management of PD is complex but there have been significant advancements in the treatment of motor and non-motor symptoms over the past few years.
Why it matters
This review discusses medical and surgical treatments for Parkinson's disease, including dementia as one non-motor symptom treated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. It is about Parkinson's disease management, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 42/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Aging and disease) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Aging and Disease: journal h-index 107 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 63 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.0 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 32 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Vikram Shivkumar: h-index 8 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Pennsylvania State University: institution h-index 1,397 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34221546) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 42 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Nemade, D., Subramanian, T., & Shivkumar, V. (2021). An Update on Medical and Surgical Treatments of Parkinson's Disease. Aging and disease. https://doi.org/10.14336/ad.2020.1225
Vancouver
Nemade D, Subramanian T, Shivkumar V. An Update on Medical and Surgical Treatments of Parkinson's Disease. Aging and disease. 2021. doi:10.14336/ad.2020.1225. PMID: 34221546.
BibTeX
@article{nemade2021-34221546,
author = {Nemade, D. and Subramanian, T. and Shivkumar, V.},
title = {{An Update on Medical and Surgical Treatments of Parkinson's Disease}},
journal = {Aging and disease},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.14336/ad.2020.1225},
pmid = {34221546},
url = {https://doi.org/10.14336/ad.2020.1225}
}
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