Abstract

Non-motor symptoms (NMSs) are observed in most of the patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and affect negatively the quality of life. These are a result of the pathological involvement of the neurological system outside of the non-nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. The NMSs in Parkinson’s disease may often be overlooked. In most cases of NMSs, symptomatic treatment is successful. For these reasons, it is very important to recognize the NMSs early and to treat them appropriately. Our aim is to emphasize the importance of the early recognition of NMSs and to discuss their diagnosis and symptomatic treatment under the light of the literature. While some NMSs appear before motor symptoms, others may develop in the course of the disease. Besides, the frequency and severity of NMSs may change throughout the disease. In order to treat the NMSs, these symptoms need to be recognized early. Therefore, the NMSs should be questioned cautiously by the neurologists when examining a PD patient.