Non-motor Disorders and their Neuro-anatomical Substrate in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease remains the second most common degenerative disorder of the central nervous system after Alzheimer's. Although it was initially described as a condition with an exclusive motor disorder, it has been shown that non-motor disorders of Parkinson's are an important part of the clinical picture. These include all those disorders that are not motor symptoms: behavioral neuropsychiatric disorders (dementia, depression, anxiety, psychosis); autonomic alteration (postural hypotension, gastrointestinal and genitourinary disorders, diaphoresis); sleep disorders; sensory-motor symptoms (fatigue, restless legs syndrome). Degeneration of non-dopaminergic cellular systems (noradrenergic, serotonergic, and cholinergic) is believed to underlie the development of most non-motor disorders. New studies are necessary to clarify the pathophysiological bases of Parkinson's disease that allow establishing future therapeutic strategies for the follow-up of patients with these disorders.