1. Academic Validation
  2. Dopamine dysregulation syndrome, addiction and behavioral changes in Parkinson's disease

Dopamine dysregulation syndrome, addiction and behavioral changes in Parkinson's disease

  • Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2008;14(4):273-80. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2007.09.007.
Doron Merims 1 Nir Giladi
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Abstract

Degeneration of the dopaminergic system in Parkinson's disease and longstanding exposure to dopaminergic drugs may cause reward system malfunction. This may manifest as addiction to l-dopa and behavioral disturbances associated with the impulse control system. These disturbances include: gambling, excessive spending (shopping), hypersexuality and binge eating. We included one such patient's personal story to emphasize the devastating consequences of these potentially reversible phenomena: the patient describes in his own words how gambling induced by an exposure dopamine agonist therapy significantly worsened his disease-related difficulties.

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