ANXIETY AND PARKINSONS-DISEASE

Anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety, panic, and social phobia, occur in up to 40% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This rate is higher than in normal or other disease comparison popula tions. Current evidence suggests that anxiety may not be a psychologic al reaction to the illness but rather may be linked to specific neurob iologic processes accompanying PD. Anxiety in PD often coexists with d epression. The optimal pharmacologic treatment for anxiety in patients with PD has not been established, but available information about the use of anxiolytics in PD is reviewed. Further study of the relationsh ip between anxiety and PD may provide an excellent opportunity to clar ify the neurobiologic substrate of anxiety itself.