Therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disorders: Emerging clues from Parkinson's disease

Our knowledge of Parkinson's disease pathophysiology has greatly expanded during the last century, resulting in successful new medical and neurosurgical approaches toward this common neurodegenerative disorder. These approaches might also be useable in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, which often are linked to atrophic and degenerative processes in the brain; however, the successful application of these techniques in psychiatry requires thorough elucidation of disease pathophysiology to identify proper intervention sites. Likewise, awareness of the differences between the parkinsonian and psychiatric patient populations in terms of age, disease course, and life expectancy, as well as ethical considerations might in the end determine the appropriateness of these therapeutic strategies in psychiatry.