TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION IN PARKINSONS-DISEASE - A METAANALYSIS

Despite a 40% prevalence of depression in idiopathic Parkinson's disea se (PD), an extensive literature search found only 12 controlled studi es of treatment efficacy. A meta-analysis of these was performed in pu rsuit of guidelines for pharmacological treatment. Articles were score d on a scale from 0 to 100 on a specially adapted list of methodologic al criteria. Only 4 articles scored more than 50 points, and these gen erally did not use depression rating scales. Thus, there are virtually no empirical data on the treatment of depression in PD. Further studi es are urgently needed both for the sake of patient care and to gain a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying depression in PD and the interrelation between depression and cognitiv e decline.