I am new to this listserv but have been discussing Parkinson's Disease on
some of my speech and language listservs. My 83 year old Dad has PD without
the tremors. His voice is pretty strong, good swallowing reflex, walks with
his cane lifted off the floor. A while ago, he started having strong visual
hallucinations and delusions which eventually led to a change in medications
( and physicians). CAT scan was clear. He was taking both Sinemet
(carbidopa) and amantadine 100 mg (same as Symadine). Now he is on
only Buspar (buspirone) and the Sinemet, a lower dose. The devastating
symptom is his dementia. He gets disoriented and doesn't remember having
asked the same questions many times. He insists he lives next door, wonders
who my mom is (his wife) thinks he is still at work, and so on. He has
already left the house in the middle of the night, forcing my Mom to have new
secure locks installed. And yet, at times, he is painfully aware that he is
out of it and says he must be losing his mind. My question is what is the
clinical difference between Alzheimer and PD dementia? Is PD more
inconsistent than Alz? His doctor tells my Mom that this will get worse with
time. He has had some TIAs, (we think) in the past which have cleared.
Any info would be appreciated. Thank you.
[log in to unmask] (Roni Liebowitz)
