HYPERLINK "http://www.clinnix.net/invisible.gif"
 HYPERLINK "http://www.clinnix.net/news/bullet.gif"Many patients
misdiagnosed with Parkinson's disease
(Thursday, 9th January 2003)

Source: HYPERLINK
"http://www.clinnix.net/news/article.php?id=2338"http://www.clinnix.net/
news/article.php?id=2338

Diagnosis could be wrong in 15% of cases

UK researchers have found that many people may have been misdiagnosed
with HYPERLINK "http://www.clinnix.net/requires_clinnix.htm"Parkinson's
disease In a study conducted in London, researchers found that doctors
were not following strict clinical guidelines about diagnosing the
disease.

The researchers used data from a previous study. They re-examined a
group of patients who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's and another
group who had been suffering symptoms of tremor, and yet had not
received a specific diagnosis.

The researchers found that 15% of patients who had been diagnosed with
Parkinson's did not have the disease. Moreover, one in five patients
with tremor actually did have it, even though they had never been
diagnosed.

Full review:

UK researchers have found that up to 15% of people who have been
diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the community may not have been
diagnosed correctly, and many other cases may have been missed. The
study is published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and
Psychiatry.

The researchers used data from a population-based study in London.
Participants who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, had
experienced tremor with onset after the age of 50 years, or who had
received anti-parkinson drugs, were invited to participate in a more
detailed study. Those who agreed to participate were diagnosed according
to strict clinical criteria, following a detailed neurological interview
and examination. The participants were followed up after one year.

The researchers found:



*       83% of patients who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's had
their diagnosis confirmed, and two additional patients were considered
to have probable Parkinson's

*       The diagnosis was unequivocally rejected in 15% of cases

*       19% of patients with tremor who had not previously been
diagnosed with Parkinson's were found to have the disease.

REF: Schrag A et al. How valid is the clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's
disease in the community? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2002; 73:
529-534

HYPERLINK "http://jnnp.bmjjournals.com/"Journal of Neurology,
Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
Clinnix is not responsible for the accuracy or availability of
information on external websites.

Thomas Berdine; Founder
HYPERLINK "http://www.youngparkinsons.com"www.youngparkinsons.com


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