parkinsonism

Several disorders cause parkinsonism as a clinical component of disease. Only about 76% of patients clinically diagnosed as idiopathic Parkinson disease actually have the disease.

clinical features
- rigidity
- bradykinesia
- resting tremor
- abnormal postural reflexes
common causes
- idiopathic Parkinson disease
- drug-related parkinsonism
- Alzheimer disease
- progressive supranuclear palsy
- multiple system atrophy
  - Shy-Drager syndrome
  - olivo-ponto-cerebellar atrophy
  - striatonigral degeneration
uncommon causes
- hydrocephalus
- Wilson disease
- cortico-basal degeneration
- Huntington disease
- Hallervorden-Spatz disease
- post-encephalitic parkinsonism
- manganese poisoning
- carbon monoxide poisoning
commonly mistaken for Parkinson disease
- essential tremor
- vascular pseudo-parkinsonism

James Lowe, DM BM BS MRCPath - 13 November 1997
Last updated: 1 September 2006