Mary Legan wrote:
> I saw the term "vascular parkinsonism" recently. The archives brought
> up only one post in which that term was used, but not explained. Does
> anyone know what this is? I'm wondering if this could be important to
> those with various vascular diseases, including myself.
Vascular Parkinsonism, CSRs 8 Jun 1999
Below are two library references with my reviews, from my
monthly Current Science Reviews of MAR 99 and JUN 99
respectively. Not specially wishing to toot my own horn, I
should remark that I've been compiling these reviews mainly
for my own use for about 5 years now, and posting them to the
list because at least several dozen listmembers have asked me
to. I know they are long, and even with the medical jargon
watered down rather difficult reading for many, but I don't
know a quicker or easier source of an introduction to any
technical subject related to PD. If you have such a question
but the CSRs are too heavy for you, I recommend at least that
you consult Simon Coles' archive of all the messages ever
posted to this forum at
http://james.parkinsons.org.uk/
If the reviews below aren't informative enough, my own take on
vascular parkinsonism is (a) PD affects many parts of the
nervous system besides those having to do with movement and
balance, including control of blood circulation; (b) One of the
hallmarks of Multiple System Atrophy (a parkinsonian disease
related to PD) is orthostatic hypotension, a sudden drop in
blood pressure causing dizziness or fainting, due to failure of
the nervous system to compensate for the effects of rising too
quickly from a supine or sitting position.
Winikates J, Jankovic J; Arch Neur 1999;56:98-102
Based on differences in clinical features among 346 parkinsonian
patients, they propose a new class called vascular parkinsonism,
related to cerebrovascular disease and distinct from idiopathic
Parkinson's disease.
Iwanaga K et al; Neur 1999;52:1269-1271:
Microscopic examination of heart tissue from PD patients found
both Lewy bodies and neurites positive for alpha-synuclein,
showing that PD affects sympathetic and intrinsic heart neurons
as well as those of the brain.
Cheers,
Joe
--
J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694
3527 Cody Road
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013
