Parkinson’s disease: overview of diagnosis and management

Key points Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic progressive neurological disease, first reported in 1817. Its main clinical characteristic is bradykinesia. PD is predominately clinically diagnosed using the Brain Bank Criteria. Levodopa is the first line in treatment, when symptoms affect activities of daily living. PD is also associated with non-motor symptoms which also need to be addressed. Ultimately, PD is non-curative and the mainstay of treatment is to try and maintain quality of life for as long as possible. Introduction Parkinson’s disease (PD) was initially described by James Parkinson in his 1817 report ‘An essay on the shaking palsy’.