Patient with Parkinson’s disease and neuropathic pain – case report Case report

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease is a complex neurodegenerative process involving various structures in the nervous system. Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed mainly on the basis of clinical symptoms resulting from damage to the nigrostriatal pathway, which gives the characteristic motor symptoms. Therefore, traditional symptomatic treatment consists of administering dopamine precursor levodopa with an aromatic amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor or directly stimulating the striatal dopamine receptors. The problem of dopaminergic therapy is the limited influence on the symptoms of the disease, including pain. Central pain is one type of pain that occurs in Parkinson’s disease patients and dopaminergic therapy may be of limited value in treating it. Proper diagnosis of the problem and the application of appropriate chronic pain therapy are essential for the quality of life of patients. The author presents the case of a 65-year-old man with Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain who required modification of dopaminergic treatment and implementation of central neuropathic pain therapy.