Bruce,
Sorry to hear about your problems. I believe that a negative PET scan can
indeed pretty much Rule Out PD. I think that tha accuraracy of a good PET Scan
in ruling out PD is quite high. Do you respond to Sinemet. If you don't that
would be I think the final factor.
Charlie
"B. BRUCE ANDERSON" wrote:
> As a few of yu may know, i definitely do not have Michael J Fox's version
> of pd. i had my 1st symptom in '94, was diagnosed in '95 and completely
> lost the ability to walk in 3/99. i have no on's or off's, tremor, no
> dyskenesia - just freezing of my legs which now feels more like paralysis.
> A month ago i tried a different neuro. [my wife & sister went on the last
> appt. with the previous one & didn'tcare for him + I can see him only for 20
> min. 3 times a year + he won't respond to faxes & since my speech is mostly
> unintelligible that's it!!]. I have tried all the drugs & only sinement
> seems to do just a little bit of good.
>
> This new neuro immediately suggested a PET scan, which he just called my
> wife with the results. He said that he could see no sgns of MSA, SDS, SNP,
> or any of the other PD+ diseases + he said he saw no sign of PD either so i
> dont have PD! [he furthermore said i needed to see a movement disorders
> specialist, {MDS} which i thought this guy was {Dr. Avery Katz in Clifton,
> NJj} - i didn;t know that neuro's who billed themselves as pd specialists
> did not consider themselves MDS's]
>
> Does anyone out there know if this dr is correct- can a PET scan completely
> rule OUT PD? I surely do have something & it does closely resemble PD in
> many ways.
>
> THANKS, right now i don't know what to do or where to go
> Bruce Anderson [53, 5]
> [log in to unmask]
> Schooley's Mtn, NJ
>
> Message -----
> From: Marty Polonsky <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, June 14, 1999 5:39 PM
> Subject: Re: PET Scans
>
> > Joe,
> > II knew about the high expense of PET scans but I did not know that they
> were
> > any more dangerous than, e.g., a CT scan. As you know, they present a
> > potetially significant development in research and diagnosis in their
> > capacity to visually portray the poverty of dopaminergic activity in the
> > substantia nigra.
> > Marty Polonsky
> >
--
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Charles T. Meyer, M.D.
Middleton (Madison), Wisconsin
[log in to unmask]
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