Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors: drugs that block the action of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase that quickly breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

ACP: advance care planning or advance care plan (a non-legally binding document that is reviewed and updated as a person’s views or situation change that must be taken into account when acting in a person’s best interests).

Adjuvant analgesics: drugs used to increase pain tolerance when conventional analgesics are non-effective.

ADRT: advance decision to refuse treatment.

Advance care planning: a documented discussion between a health and social care professional, a patient and those closest to them, that covers the patient’s wishes and preferences for their care and treatments in the future (what they want, what they don’t want and who will speak for them).

Advanced directives: instructions given by a person before they become mentally or physically incapacitated, that covers their future care and may include ADRT and power of attorney.

Anticholinergics: agents that block the passage of impulses through the parasympathetic nerves.

Antimuscarinics: an agent that counteracts the effects of muscarine or blocks the muscarinic receptors.

Apomorphine: a drug used for acute, intermittent treatment of hypomobility episodes in advanced parkinsonism.

Combativeness: propensity to quarrel.

COMT inhibitors: drugs that block catechol-o-methyl transferase, an enzyme that breaks down dopamine.

DBS: deep brain stimulation, a form of surgery that is used to treat some of the symptoms of Parkinson's.

Dopamine agonists: drugs that stimulate dopamine receptors in the brain.

Duodopa^®: enterally administered levodopa/carbidopa gel used for the treatment of advanced Parkinson's in patients with motor fluctuations and dyskinesias.

Dysarthria: inability to speak normally due to loss of control of the muscles of the tongue, lips, cheeks or larynx.

Dyskinesia: involuntary movements caused by long term use of levodopa.

Dysphagia: Swallowing difficulties.

Dysphasia: difficulty with speaking and sometimes with comprehending speech.

End of life care: holistic care that focuses on quality of life issues for a person who will die within the next 12 months and those closest to them.

Enteral administration: feeding or drug administration by the digestion process of the gastrointestinal tract.

Gastrostomy feeding: feeding through a tube inserted through the skin and stomach wall.

Hypophonia: soft speech resulting from a lack of coordination in the vocal muscles.

LSVT: Lee Silverman Voice Technique is a treatment delivered by a speech and language therapist that focuses on increasing vocal loudness through exaggerated motions and behaviours.

MAO-B inhibitors: Monoamine oxydase B is an enzyme that breaks down dopamine in the brain. Inhibiting it prolongs the action of dopamine.

Midazolam: a muscle relaxing / anticonvulsant drug generally given as a sedative.

Multidisciplinary team: a variety of health and social care professionals involved in the physical, social, psychological and spiritual care of a person.

Muscarine: A highly toxic alkyloid with neurologic effects.

NCPC: National Council for Palliative Care.

NG tube: Nasogastric tube inserted up the nose and down the throat into the stomach.

NICE: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Palliative care: active total care of people whose condition is not responsive to curative treatment, and involves the physical, psychological, spiritual and social aspects of care.

A power of attorney is a written legal document giving someone else authority to take actions and decisions on your behalf.

There are different types of power of attorney according to where you live in the UK.

Parenteral administration: drug administration delivered by routes other than the gastrointestinal tract.

Paresthesia: an abnormal sensation, such as burning or prickling.

PEG: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.

Person-centred care: co-ordinated and seamless care that promotes satisfaction and improved care outcomes for a person.

Psychosis: a symptom of mental illness where a patient believes their hallucinations and/or delusions are real.

RIG: Radiologically-inserted gastrostomy.

Sialorrhea: excessive salivation.

SIGN: Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.

Somnolence: sleepiness.

Specialist palliative care services: pain relief care from a variety of specialist health professionals triggered at certain times in a condition’s trajectory.

Subcutaneously: located or placed just beneath the skin.

Sundowning: a state of disorientation or agitation that sometimes occurs in late afternoon or evening in people with later stage dementia.

Team approach: involving all the disciplines and agencies giving care to a person.

Transdermally: through or by way of the skin.

WHO: World Health Organization.