Treatment of Depression in Parkinson's Disease: Pathological Mechanisms and Clinical Practice

Abstract

Depression, a non-motor symptom, frequently occurs alongside Parkinson's disease (PD), which is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder among middle-aged and elderly individuals. Its treatment necessitates balancing the alleviation of depressive symptoms against the risk of worsening motor symptoms. Conventional antidepressants exhibit limited efficacy, are prone to inducing adverse reactions, and further exacerbate issues such as diminished patient quality of life and increased caregiving burden. In-depth exploration of the pathological mechanisms of depression in Parkinson's Disease (PDD) and optimization of diagnosis and treatment strategies are of great significance. This article reviews the pathological mechanisms (abnormal neurotransmission, inflammation), clinical treatments (pharmacological treatment, TCM acupuncture, non-pharmacological combined treatment) and future research directions, which highlight the advantages of acupuncture and multi-method combined treatment. At present, some therapies in this field lack verification through large-sample studies. In the future, more studies need to be conducted to clarify the mechanisms, verify the efficacy and optimize the schemes, so as to provide references for clinical practice and scientific research of PDD.