Publication

Abstract : Schizophrenia and Parkinsons’s disease are two neuro-pathological end points of dopaminergic spectrum in the mid brain. While the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease results from the death of dopaminergic cells in substantia nigra, the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia are related to dopaminergic hyperactivity in the striatum. Pharmacological intervention therefore involves normalizing the dopamine concentrations, wherein dopaminergic drugs are used to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease, dopamine antagonists are used to treat patients with schizophrenia. These pharmacological interventions in either of the two disease states, results in over shooting the optimum dopamine levels, therapy resulting in drug induced extra-pyramidal symptoms in schizophrenia and hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease. This review summarizes the side effects observed using dopamine modulating pharmaceuticals, and brings to light the clinical scenario of drug induced disease state at both ends of dopamine spectrum, that poses a challenge to patients and clinicians.