Delusion in Parkinson’s disease: A Symptom or an Adverse Effect of Dopamine Agonist – A Case Report

Parkinson’s disease (PD) which currently has no cure but there are many treatment options to manage symptoms. PD is the second most common neurodegenerative condition affecting not only older people of developed countries but also in people of developed countries in their 50’s and 60’s. Though it greatly affects motor system, psychotic symptoms such as delusion, hallucination mostly develop at a later stage of disease after several years but early development at the very beginning of the course has also been reported. Delusion can also develop as an inevitable outcome of dopaminergic drugs like carbidopalevodopa, a common drug-class prescribed at the very beginning of the diagnosis increasing the availability of dopamine in the brain. It’s the clinical experience that propounded this link between psychosis and medication use. Psychosis can impact patient’s daily life in a severe manner making it more frightening and could be life threatening at times. Therefore, differentiation between the delusion as a symptom and delusion as an effect of medication onset is a crucial part of PD management.