Parkinsons disease

Parkinson disease is a slowly progressive, degenerative disorder characterized by resting tremor, stiffness (rigidity), slow and decreased movement (bradykinesia), and eventually gait and/or postural instability. Diagnosis is clinical. Treatment aims to restore dopaminergic function in the brain with levodopa plus carbidopa and/or other drugs (eg, dopamine agonists, monoamine oxidase type B [MAO-B] inhibitors, amantadine). For refractory, disabling symptoms in patients without dementia, stereotactic deep brain stimulation or lesional surgery and levodopa and an apomorphine pump may help. Juvenile parkinsonism, which is rare, begins during childhood or adolescence up to 20 years. Onset between ages 21 and 40 years is sometimes called young or early-onset Parkinson disease. Genetic causes are more likely in juvenile and early-onset Parkinson disease; these forms may differ from later-onset Parkinson disease because Secondary and Atypical Parkinsonism Secondary parkinsonism refers to a group of disorders that have features similar to those of Parkinson disease but have a different etiology. Atypical parkinsonism refers to a group of neurodegenerative... read more is brain dysfunction that is characterized by basal ganglia dopaminergic blockade and that is similar to Parkinson disease, but it is caused by something other than Parkinson disease (eg, drugs, cerebrovascular disease, trauma, postencephalitic changes). Secondary and Atypical Parkinsonism Secondary parkinsonism refe...