Muscle rigidity results in resistance to passive muscle stretching. Akinesia causes the patient to walk with difficulty. Parkinson's disease does not impair the intellect. Diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is based on the patient's age and history, and the characteristic clinical picture. Since there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, the primary aim of treatment is to relieve symptoms and keep the patient functional as long as possible.
Treatment consists of drugs, physical therapy, and in severe cases, neurosurgery.
Drug therapy usually includes levodopa, a dopamine replacement that is most effective during early stages. When drug therapy fails, neurosurgery is sometimes an effective alternative. In stereotatic neurosurgery, an electrical coagulaton, freezing, radioactivity, or ultrasound destroys the ventrolateral nucleus of the thalmus to prevent involuntary movement. Another surgical approach is the implantation of tissue that makes dopamine, into the affected areas of the brain. Individually planned physical therapy complements drug treatment and neurosurgery to maintain normal muscle tone and function.