Methylphenidate for Apathy in Veterans With Parkinson's Disease

Apathy is one of the most common behavioral symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Patients with apathy show diminution in motivation and goal-directed behaviors, which is a fundamental aspect of human functioning, affecting dependency and quality of life. Although apathy is thought to be potentially treatable currently there are no effective treatments for apathy. Given the higher incidence of medical and psychiatric comorbidities, the Veterans Affairs health system represents a unique population for which medication response may be different from the general population. This study aims to evaluate if a medication that has already been proven to be useful in Alzheimer's disease patients with apathy, could be helpful in Parkinson's disease as well as decreasing its debilitating consequences and reducing patients' dependency on caregivers, providing well-deserved relief to patients and their loved ones.