This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages without signing in

Anticholinergic drugs in parkinsonism

Authoring team

Anticholinergic drugs are less effective than levodopa in treating Parkinson's disease (PD) but are used:

  • in combination with levodopa, particularly when tremor is a particular problem
  • instead of levodopa if an "anti-levodop" treatment regimen is being followed

Anticholinergic drugs are useful in post-encephalitic parkinsonism.

Anticholinergics have their primary action in reducing tremor but may also reduce rigidity.

Anticholinergics may be used as a symptomatic treatment typically in young people with early PD and severe tremor, but should not be drugs of first choice due to limited efficacy and the propensity to cause neuropsychiatric side effects (1)

Reference:

  1. NICE (June 2006). Parkinson's disease.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.