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The role of botulinum toxin in the multimodal management of pain in Parkinson’s disease: a scoping review

delete2026-07-30
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PRE
AI
B
Bo Biering‐Sørensen *
J
Jörg Wissel
T
Tanya Gurevich
A
Alain Kaelin‐Lang
I
Igor N. Petrovic
Z
Zvezdan Pirtošek
V
Vladana Markovic
M
Monika Rudzińska
I
Ivan Milanov
DOI:10.1007/s00702-026-03244-7delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Pain is among the most prevalent, disabling, and underrecognized non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), affecting approximately 40–85% of patients across cohorts. It is heterogeneous, often multifactorial, and may occur at any stage of disease, including the prodromal phase. Pain in PD can reflect musculoskeletal strain, dystonia, neuropathic/radicular mechanisms, altered central nociceptive processing, or combinations thereof, and it frequently fluctuates with motor state, mood, sleep, and overall non-motor burden. Over time, the field has moved from purely clinical classifications toward mechanism-based systems, including the Parkinson’s Disease Pain Classification System, which may better guide individualized treatment. Management should therefore be multimodal rather than sequential, integrating optimization of dopaminergic therapy, targeted pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, rehabilitation, psychological support, and device-aided therapies where indicated. Botulinum toxin represents a shift from systemic pharmacological escalation to precision, mechanism-directed local therapy and may be a first line treatment choice in selected focal pain syndromes, especially painful dystonia and focal musculoskeletal pain and reduce polypharmacy burden and systemic adverse effects by replacing chronic oral symptomatic medications. This review summarizes the evolving classification of pain in PD, its clinical presentation across the disease continuum, and the rationale for an individualized, multidisciplinary, and mechanism-based treatment strategy, with special emphasis on botulinum toxin within multimodal care.
Keywords:
Parkinson’s disease
Pain
Botulinum toxin
Multimodal treatment
Non-motor symptoms
Rehabilitation

Journal

Journal of Neural Transmission cover
Journal of Neural Transmission
IF:
4
Papers:
4.8K
Citations:
8.5K

Organization

T
tel aviv sourasky university medical center
Scholars:
35
Papers: 13
Citations: 0
M
Movement Disorder and Pain Research Center
Scholars:
4
Papers: 4
Citations: 0
U
university neurological hospital st. naum
Scholars:
2
Papers: 1
Citations: 0
U
University Clinical Center of Serbia
Scholars:
357
Papers: 101
Citations: 0
U
university of potsdam
Scholars:
685
Papers: 366
Citations: 2
U
umc ljubljana and faculty of medicine
Scholars:
2
Papers: 1
Citations: 0
F
Faculty of Biomedical Sciences
Scholars:
83
Papers: 45
Citations: 0
F
faculty of medicine
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6.1K
Papers: 2.1K
Citations: 0
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