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hello all

this isn't strictly a medical study on pd
but it tickled me when i read it
maybe i've read too many agatha christie mysteries
about forged wills!

janet

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Handwriting changes due to aging and Parkinson's syndrome.
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Wills signed by elderly people are often contested on the grounds the the
signature is different from their earlier specimen signatures.

Neurological disease, which can affect handwriting, is very common and
progressive amongst elderly people.

Handwriting change due to old age and neurological disease is poorly
understood.

To better understand this subject, we carried out a large methodical study
based on almost 200 handwriting specimens of Parkinson patients and
age-matched controls.

Interestingly, our findings indicate that some of the handwriting changes
which occur in these populations tend to resemble forgery indicia although
upon close inspection they are distinguishable from them.

Thus, document examiners are urged to exercise caution in assessing
purported forgeries on wills and other documents signed of written during
older age or a writer suffering from neurological disease.


Forensic Sci Int 1997 Aug 22;88(3):197-214
Walton J
Document Examination Co., Sydney, NSW, Australia.
PMID: 9291592, MUID: 97436928
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janet paterson - 50/9 - sinemet/selegiline/prozac - [log in to unmask]