Parkinson’s disease, often referred to as Parkinson’s syndrome, is a neurodegenerative disease whose typical motor symptoms are the result of the death of cells that synthesize and release dopamine. These cells are found in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain. The root cause of why these cells die remains unknown.
At the onset of the disease the most obvious symptoms are related to movement and include tremors, stiffness, slowness in movement and difficulty in walking. Later on, cognitive and behavioural problems can arise, leading eventually to dementia that occurs in the advanced stages. The main motor symptoms are commonly called parkinsonism.
To date, pharmacological treatment, surgery and multidisciplinary management are able to provide relief for the symptoms. The drugs mainly used in the treatment of motor symptoms are levodopa (usually in combination with a dopa-decarboxylase inhibitor and a COMT inhibitor), dopamine agonists and MAO-B inhibitors (monoamine oxidase inhibitor).
In combination with the above-mentioned drugs, citicoline can be used thanks to its synergistic activity with L-Dopa.