Non-motor symptoms
Non-motor symptoms
Non-motor symptoms are increasingly recognised as an important aspect of Parkinson’s disease and may be more problematic for patients than the classical motor symptoms. Indeed non-motor symptoms can severally impact on patients’ quality of life and be a driving factor for institutionalisation in advanced stages of the disease. Some non-motor symptoms such as sleep disturbances and autonomic dysfunction may be present at disease onset and may precede the appearance of motor disturbances. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying non-motor symptoms are unknown, but probably include non-dopaminergic systems in the brain.
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