The anatomy of the basal ganglia and Parkinson's disease: a review.

The present understanding of the anatomy of the basal ganglia has been updated. Recent work has produced a primate model of Parkinson's disease for study of its pathogenesis and treatment. In the last two decades, administration of dopamine agonist has been the mainstay of treatment of Parkinson's disease in the humans. However, recent use of dopamine-rich tissue such as adrenal gland or human foetal cells is opening up a new frontier for the treatment of more severe Parkinsonism. Nevertheless, there is still much to be learned at the basic neuroscience level before such procedure could be used widely in clinical practice.