Hallucinations are not dreams or nightmares. They are best described as deceptions or tricks played by the brain that involve the body’s senses. Hallucinations are when someone sees, hears or feels something that is not actually there. Parkinson’s is a complex disease and as it progresses the percentages and risk of symptoms will change. We recommend that people with Parkinson’s not use a single percentage to represent the prevalence of hallucinations and PDP.
In one study, 10% of those with minor hallucinations had their symptoms resolved within a few years, while 52% saw their symptoms remain the same and 38% saw their psychosis symptoms get worse. Typically, if the person with PD only has these minor hallucinations, their doctor will not prescribe an antipsychotic medication, though more significant psychosis that requires medication may develop over time. These are the most common types of psychosis in people with PD, with different studies placing the occurrence between 25-70% of people with Parkinson’s. However, it is important to note that these statistics sometimes include “delirium,” in which the symptoms are temporary due to medication that needs to be adjusted or infection that needs to be treated, and “isolated minor symptoms” or “minor hallucinations,” including illusions, where instead of seeing things that are not there (hallucinations), people misinterpret things that are really there. The increase does not mean that the hallucinations are persistent across the majority of people with PD. When followed as the disease progresses over the years, this number increases. How common is Parkinson's disease psychosis (PDP)?īetween 20-40% of people with Parkinson’s report the experience of hallucinations or delusions.
It is important to report any hallucinations or delusions to your medical team, even if they are not bothersome. Healthcare providers usually refer to these symptoms as "Parkinson's disease associated psychosis." Psychosis can vary from severe confusion (disordered thinking) to seeing things that aren’t there (hallucinations) to believing things that are not true (delusions). But what does it really mean? In Parkinson’s disease (PD), what your doctor calls psychosis usually starts with mild symptoms, but these can have a big impact on quality of life. Psychosis can be a frightening word that many people simply don’t understand.
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