Use of apomorphine in parkinsonian patients with neuropsychiatric complications to oral treatment.
Neuropsychiatric side effects often complicate anti-Parkinsonian therapy and pose a significant problem in the optimal management of idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Several publications report a relative lack of neuropsychiatric side effects in Parkinsonian patients treated with subcutaneous apomorphine. To investigate this further, we have used subcutaneous apomorphine to treat 12 non-demented IPD patients with previous oral drug-related neuropsychiatric problems. Treatment with apomorphine allowed alteration of anti-Parkinsonian medication and led to the abolition or reduction of neuropsychiatric complications in all patients. The mechanism remains unclear but may be due, in part, to a reduction in oral medication or a psychotropic action of apomorphine, possibly due to the piperidine moiety in its structure, or both.
Ellis
C
C
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry and King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, U.K.
Lemmens
G
G
Parkes
J D
JD
Abbott
R J
RJ
Pye
I F
IF
Leigh
P N
PN
Chaudhuri
K R
KR