0000,0000,ffffBuce, you wrote
0000,0000,ffff Does anmyone has a
comprehensive list of all the different PD+ diseases - MSA, PSP, SDS,
etc? Someone did post such a list, which had a good
description of each, here at least a year or so ago but I could not find
it in the archives. It also ranked them according to which you would not
want to have more! Thank you very much!!
I don't think this is the sae list you saw before, but I hope it will
do.
Ida
What Parkinson's is Not Parkinsonian Look-alikes
What with so many people who show Parkinsonian symptoms not being
correctly diagnosed as Parkinson's, it is also worthwhile noting that a
number of people initially diagnosed with Parkinson's have another
disease, a "Parkinson's look-alike," instead.
Most often these people are still considered to have Parkinsonism by the
community, but their treatment protocol may be substantially different
from that of persons who have ideopathic Parkinson's.
Here are some of the conditions with which Parkinson's may be initially
confused:
Benign Essential Tremor
Shy Drager Syndrome
Normal Pressure hydrocephalus
Striato-Nigral Degenereation
PseudobulbarPalsy
Progressive Supernuclear Palsy
Wilson's Disease
Hallervorden Spatz Disease
Olivopontocerebellar Degeneration
Huntington's Disease
Dystonia
Brain tuors
Benign Essential Tremor
- A common condition that may appear in the elderly and slowly progress
over the years. The tremor is usually equal in both hands and increases
when the hands are stretched out in front of the patient or when the
hands are moving. The tremor may involve the head but spares the legs.
Patients with Benign Tremor have no other Parkinson's features, and
there is usually a family history of tremor. Parkinsonian Tremor and
Benign Tremor generally respond to different drugs. A small numbr of
patients with Benign Essential Tremor (less than five percent) develop
PD.
Shy Drager Syndrome
- A condition in which the earliest and most severe symptoms are those of
insufficiency of the Autonomic Nervous System: dizziness on standing,
bladder difficulty, and impotence. These autonomic symptoms are followed
by PD symptoms such as rigidity, tremor, bradykinesia, postural
instability, and gait difficulty.
There is some question among neurologists as to whether the Shy Drager
Syndrome is a form of PD or a separate disease.
Normal Pressue Hydrocephalus
- An uncommon condition that consists of difficulty walking (resembling
PD), mental changes (resembling senility), and urinary incontinence. The
condotion is caused by an enlargement of the fluid cavities (Ventricles)
in the brain which compress the parts of the brain that regulate walking
and thinking.
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus differs from the more familiar
Hydrocephalus of childhood, which results from the blockage to the flow
of spinal fluid. No such blockage is found in patients with Normal
Pressure Hydrocephalus. There is no known cause of Normal Pressure
Hydrocephalus.
The Condition may respond to a shunt: a tube placed in the ventricle
which drains off the excessive fluidand carries it away.
Striato-Nigral Degeneration - An uncommon disorder in which patients
become stiff and slow and develop difficulty with balance and walking.
Usually patients do not have tremor and cannot be distinguished from
patients with PD on the basis of a neurological exam. Patients with
Striato-Nigral Degeneration however do not respond to Levadopa.
Only after death can this disorder be distnguished from PD because in
Striato-Nigral Degeneration most of the damage is in the Striatum and not
the Substantia Nigra. This is the reverse of the situation with PD.
Pseudobulbar Palsy - A common disorder that occurs in patients with
disease of the blood vesels of the brain (Arteriosclerosis).
Arteriosclerosis is especially likely to occur in patients with high
blood pressure or diabetes. Patients who develop Pseudobulbar Palsy do
so because they suffer numerous small strokes (ministrokes),
many of which are so mild that patients are unaware of them. The
ministrokes usually damage the part of the brain that controls balance
and walking, the same area involved in PD. The two disorders may not be
distinguished on the basis of a neurological examination alone.
Patients with Pseudobulbar Palsy do not respond to antiparkinsonian
drugs. In the past, many patients were thought to have PD on the basis
of Arteriosclerosis alone (arteriosclerotic PD). Currently,
Arteriosclerosis is not believed to be the cause of PD.
Progressive Supernuclear Palsy - An uncommon disorder in which patients
develop Paralysis of theeir eye movements, difficulty in speaking,
rigidity, and senility. This disorder causes changes in the brain that
are similar to those of PD, but are even more extensive. Patients with
this condition do not respond to antiparkinson drugs.
Wilson's Disease
- A rare inherited disorder that appears in patients below the age of
40. This disease involves the brain and the liver. This excess results
in damage to these two organs. Early diagnosis is important in this
disease as treatment prevents further damage to the brain and liver.
Hallervorden Spatz Disease - Also a rare, inherited progressive disease
that begins in late childhood. Hallervorden Spatz Disease is associated
with the accumulation of excessive iron in certain parts of the brain.
There is no treatment for this disease.
Olivopontocerebellar Degeneration - An uncommon disorder in which
patients have difficulty with balance and walking, often called Ataxia.
The patients may have an action or sustention tremor, but do not have
rigidity or bradykinesia. The disorder results from a deterioration of
the nervous system, including the Cerebellum, the Pons (a part of the
brain stem), and the Olives (a part of the Brain Stem and Spinal Cord).
Olivopontocerebellar Degeneration does not respond to antiparkinson
drugs.
Huntington's Disease - An inherited disease which usually begins early in
middle life. It is chracterized by involuntary movements (dyskinesias,
chorea) associated with changes in behavior, personality, and mood. The
chorea (which resembles the involuntary movements caused by Levedopa)
may precede, occur simultaneously,
or follow the mental changes. The disease, when fully developed, is
easily distinguished from PD. However, the symptoms of a childhood form
of Huntington's disease may resemble PD. Levadopa usually worsens the
symptoms of Huntington's disease...
Dystonia - An inherited disease that begins in childhood and is
progressive. The patients develop unusual postures of the head and neck,
arms and legs. This is called Generalized Dystonia (Dystonia Musculorum
Deformans). A variation of the disease, Segmental Dystonia, develops in
adulthood and involves only one part of the body, e.g. the head and neck
(Torticollis or Wryneck). ...
Brain Tumors - Tumors of the brain that are close to the sunstantia nigra
or the striatum may exert local pressure on these structures. This local
pressure may, in turn, result in the appearance of symptoms that resemble
PD. A CT or NMR scan of the brain will exclude the possibility of a
brain tumor as the cause of the Parkinsonian symptoms.
Source: Parkinson Quarterly, Dallas, TX, Fall, 1998. Reprinted from May,
1998, Hot-Pacs Newsletter, Volume 63, published by the Parkinson's
Support Group of Central Texas.
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Vriendelijke Groeten / Kind regards,
Ida Kamphuis mailto: [log in to unmask]