Latest on Parkinson’s treatment, research published in The Lancet

Doctor Michael Okun
Dr. Michael Okun

Parkinson’s disease has been recognized as the fastest growing neurological condition, affecting more than 6 million people worldwide in 2016, according to authors of a new seminar in The Lancet.

Co-authored by Michael S. Okun, M.D., chair of UF’s department of neurology, the review provides an overview of Parkinson’s disease, including prevalence, symptoms, diagnostics, risk factors, pathophysiology, prognosis, treatment and future directions of research. The authors cite more than 160 original publications, recent reviews and international consensus guidelines that have appeared since The Lancet’s last Parkinson’s seminar in 2015.

“Fortunately, PD is treatable, particularly when the interventions are delivered using a personalized approach, and by well-trained experts,” the authors write. “Encouraged by the many exciting developments highlighted here, we have hope that treatments and services will continue to evolve, with a tangible impact on people with Parkinson’s worldwide.”

Okun, who is also executive director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health, co-authored the article with Bastiaan R. Bloem, M.D., medical director of neurology at Radboud University Medical Center, and Christine Klein, M.D., head of the Institute of Neurogenetics at the University of Lübeck.