title: Parkinson's disease: focus on management alternatives.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This activity is designed for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, health planners, directors of managed care organizations, and payers of health services.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To understand the impact that Parkinson's disease has on patients and to identify areas of drug therapy that can be optimized to improve a patient's quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  1. Discuss the epidemiology and pathophysiology of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). 2. Identify causes of secondary parkinsonism and medications associated with drug-induced parkinsonism. 3. Discuss the cardinal and secondary manifestations of IPD. 4. Outline the 6 stages of IPD. 5. Identify therapeutic alternatives for various levodopa treatment failures. 6. Identify the 3 newer antiparkinson agents and state their mechanisms of action, common adverse effects, drug interactions, and appropriate use. 7. Identify the appropriate use, common adverse effects, and drug interactions of dopamine agonists, anticholinergic agents, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors in Parkinson's disease therapy.
authors.affiliation: University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, Memphis, 38163, USA. lyoung@utmem.edu
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Justice
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017281:Cost of Illness; D019468:Disease Management; D004513:Education, Pharmacy, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents