Parkinson’s Disease
Volume 2011, Article ID 708404, 13 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2011/708404
Neuropathology and Neurochemistry of Nonmotor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease
Institut de Neuropatologia, Servei Anatomia Patològica, IDIBELL-Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Universitat de Barcelona, carrer Feixa LLarga sn, CIBERNED, 08907 Hospitalet de LLobregat, Spain
Received 11 October 2010; Accepted 16 December 2010
Academic Editor: Irena Rektorova
Copyright © 2011 Isidro Ferrer. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Parkinson disease (PD) is no longer considered a complex motor disorder characterized by Parkinsonism but rather a systemic disease with variegated non-motor deficits and neurological symptoms, including impaired olfaction, autonomic failure, cognitive impairment, and psychiatric symptoms. Many of these alterations appear before or in parallel with motor deficits and then worsen with disease progression. Although there is a close relation between motor symptoms and the presence of Lewy bodies (LBs) and neurites filled with abnormal