The use of subcutaneous scopolamine as a palliative treatment in Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a degenerative, chronic and irreversible condition. Palliative medicine may play an important role in the care of patients with PD to maintain the quality of life. Scopolamine is a non-competitive antagonist at muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, which was used many years ago in the treatment for PD. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previously reported cases of the use of scopolamine for symptom relief at the end of life in patients with PD. The case reported here shows that treatment with a subcutaneous scopolamine was a useful alternative in a terminal cancer patient with severe tremors unable to take oral PD medication.