OBJECTIVE The prevalence rate of depression among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) has been estimated at 25%, although prevalence figures range between 7-76%. Relatively few studies on PD and depression are based on random samples in the general population. Some depressive symptoms can also be understood as symptoms of parkinsonism, and the current study aims to describe which 'overlap' s...

The recently identified C9orf72 gene accounts for a large proportion of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degenerations. As several forms of these disorders are associated with parkinsonism, we hypothesized that some patients with Parkinson's disease or other forms of parkinsonism might carry pathogenic C9orf72 expansions. Therefore, we looked for C9orf72 repeat expansions ...

Drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP) is the second-most-common etiology of parkinsonism in the elderly after Parkinson's disease (PD). Many patients with DIP may be misdiagnosed with PD because the clinical features of these two conditions are indistinguishable. Moreover, neurological deficits in patients with DIP may be severe enough to affect daily activities and may persist for long periods of ti...

The prevalence and clinical correlates of extrapyramidal signs in a consecutive series of 78 patients with Alzheimer's disease attending a neurology clinic, and 20 age comparable normal controls, were examined. Based on the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) findings, 18 patients (23%) met criteria for parkinsonism, 44 (56%) had isolated extrapyramidal signs, and 16 (21%) had no e...

Progressive ambulatory impairment and abnormal white matter (WM) signal on neuroimaging come together under the diagnostic umbrella of vascular parkinsonism (VaP). A critical appraisal of the literature, however, suggests that (1) no abnormal structural imaging pattern is specific to VaP; (2) there is poor correlation between brain MRI hyperintensities and microangiopathic brain disease and par...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with a characteristic regional metabolic covariance pattern that is modulated by treatment. To determine whether a homologous metabolic pattern is also present in nonhuman primate models of parkinsonism, 11 adult macaque monkeys with parkinsonism secondary to chronic systemic 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and 12 age-matched healthy an...

Drug-induced parkinsonism is the second most common cause of parkinsonism after Parkinson's disease and their distinction has crucial implications in terms of management and prognosis. However, differentiating between these conditions can be challenging on a clinical ground, especially in the early stages. We therefore performed a review to ascertain whether assessment of non-motor symptoms, or...

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the atherosclerotic changes in patients with vascular parkinsonism and in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, in order to evaluate the possible influence of the extracranial pathology of carotid arteries in developing lacunar cerebral infarcts. Degree of stenosis and plaque morphology of the extracranial part of carotids in both group...

Parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia can coexist in patients taking antipsychotic drugs. Persistence of both parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia during a two year follow up period after discontinuation of antipsychotic drugs is reported. Etiological significance of antipsychotic treatment is discussed.

RATIONALE A dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) refers to an abnormal direct connection between an intracranial artery and a dural venous sinus. A DAVF presenting with parkinsonism is rare, and is therefore easily misdiagnosed. Therefore, early consideration of DAVF in the differential diagnosis of reversible parkinsonism is necessary. PATIENT CONCERNS We present the case of a 51-year-old male...