The economic and quality of life burden associated with Parkinson's disease: a focus on symptoms.

Parkinson's disease (PD) imposes a significant economic burden on the healthcare system. As the population continues to age and shifts to include a larger proportion of persons 65 years and older, the economic burden related to PD will continue to escalate. Clinicians should be mindful of striving for efficiency, making prudent choices, and allocating resources appropriately. The majority of treatment costs in PD are associated with advancing disease; specifically, the costs related to increasing need for care. Early identification of motor and non-motor signs and symptoms of disease allows for earlier treatment. Through early treatment strategies, symptom control is improved and patients will likely have less need for care. This leads to improvements in quality of life (QoL) and functional independence and reduced caregiver burden and thus results in decreased costs. In addition, although research thus far has not clearly demonstrated the ability of an agent to provide disease modification, as new, potentially neuroprotective therapeutic interventions are developed and become available as treatment options, the recognition of early disease will be more important. If earlier treatment with neuroprotective agents leads to slowing of disease progression, the result may be less need for care and decreased costs for patients with PD. This may have a measurable impact by improving QoL measures for both the patient and caregivers.