Is it Parkinson's disease?

It is always automatically assumed if a person starts with tremors that they are suffering with Parkinson's disease. However there are many different types of neurological disease which can cause Parkinson's and it usually takes a specialist to distinguish what illness exactly a person is suffering from before a diagnosis is made. It is estimated that many people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease are actually suffering from some other disease which have very similar symptoms.

Parkinsonism Syndromes

Parkinson's disease has some very characteristic symptoms; these symptoms include tremor, rigidity, Bradykinesia and postural instability. The only problem is though that these symptoms can often belong to another disorder. Parkinson's disease can actually be quite a difficult disease to diagnose, especially in the early stages. Usually once the disease is firmly established a more positive diagnosis can be made, however treatment can be more effective if an early diagnosis can be made.

One study of people who were being treated for Parkinson's disease discovered that only 65% had been correctly diagnosed. Out of the remaining 35%, 7% had vascular Parkinsonism, with 10% suffering from atypical Parkinsonism.

Medication-induced Parkinsonism can also be a problem. There are many medications available which can cause symptoms that are practically indistinguishable from Parkinson's disease. These include drugs such as antipsychotics, metaclopramide, reserpine, tetrabenazine and some calcium-channel blockers (especially cinnarizine and flunarizine). Once it has been established that the symptoms are being caused by drugs, the symptoms usually resolve a few weeks after they have been discontinued. However in some rare cases, the symptoms do not resolve.

Vascular Parkinsonism is a disorder where a person suffers multiple small strokes. These strokes often cause Parkinsonism symptoms. People who suffer from this illness usually present with problems with their gait rather than suffering from tremor. They are also more likely to report symptoms that worsen in the lower rather than their upper limbs. Some sufferers also report an abrupt or immediate onset of their symptoms, or they may even describe a history of step type deterioration, (the symptoms get worse, and then plateau for a time). Treatment is usually same as for Parkinson disease, but the results are usually disappointing.

Dementia with Lewy bodies

Parkinsonism is a feature of this disorder as well as dementia, hallucinations, and a variation in cognitive status over the day. There are huge problems associated with cognitive skills such as problem solving and planning and the ability to produce and recognize figures. Treatment can reduce the delusions, apathy and hallucinations, though many people seem to develop a severe reaction to the type of medication used to treat this disease.