Impulsivity in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

In recent years focus has been increasingly placed on impulse control disorders (ICDs) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). ICDs include pathological attraction to gambling, compulsive shopping, compulsive eating and compulsive sexual behaviour and are associated mostly with the intake of dopamine agonists. Another impulsive and compulsive behaviour in PD is the dopamine dysregulation syndrome, which is associated with compulsive intake of L-dopa, and short-acting dopamine agonists. Diagnostics and prevention of this group of disorders is essential, considering the difficulties related to their treatment and their negative impact on the patients themselves as well as on their relatives.