Description
Parkinsons disease is a progressive and irreversible chronic neurological disorder with no known cure at present. Treatment is therefore purely symptomatic and a palliative care approach should be applied from the onset. For a variable number of years patients can lead a virtually normal life but drug treatment becomes less effective and drug related complications become more common as time progresses with worsening physical and mental symptoms leading to an increasingly disabled life. Many patients and carers feel abandoned by their medical attendants when they reach the end stage and are often told that nothing more can be done. This review attempts to draw on published literature and emphasise the fact that a lot can be done for these patients enabling them to have a better quality of life if a more positive and holistic approach is used with the patient and carer at the centre.
