This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Recurrent visual hallucinations (VHs) are common in Parkinson disease (PD), with cross-sectional studies estimating a 22% to 38% overall prevalence.1 Neuropathologic brain bank studies show that a history of VHs is the strongest predictor of α-synuclein (Lewy bodies) neuronal pathology, i.e., of neuropathologically proven PD.2 Of note, the occurrence of VHs has importance for PD prognosis, being a harbinger of cognitive decline, nursing home placement, and increased mortality.3 VHs were initially considered as a dopaminergic drug-induced psychosis,4 but a substantial corpus of data have demonstrated that PD VHs occurred in the pre-levodopa era, and may be independent of, and are not linearly correlated with, dopaminergic drug treatments, although these drugs may act as precipitants.3 Reconsideration of the dopamine toxicity hypothesis has driven new studies on PD VH pathophysiologic mechanisms; for example, those focused on neuroimaging in order to identify neural network alterations, and to develop possible treatments based on manipulation of neurotransmitters involved in brain networks.
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org/N for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the editorial.
See page 304
- © 2018 American Academy of Neurology
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
