Benign and malignant types of Parkinson's disease: clinical and patho-physiological characterization.

Parkinson's disease (P.D.) is characterized by two different types, a benign form found in 85% of patients and a malignant type in 15%. Computer tomography shows malignant patients, in the end stage of the disease process, to exhibit hydrocephalus internus and externus. Such patients exhibit early EEG-deterioration and pharmacotoxic psychosis. The application of neuroleptics to patients with P.D. is associated with an increase in the urinary excretion of acidic metabolites especially of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. It is suggested, that this treatment might also be a useful therapeutic approach to optimizing the residual neuronal function in Parkinson's disease.