Parkinson's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Parkinson's Disease, including details on symptoms, treatment, genetics, medication.

Ten steps to identify atypical parkinsonism.

Abdo WF, Borm GF, Munneke M, Verbeek MM, Esselink RA, Bloem BR

Department of Neurology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: Balance impairment is a frequently encountered problem in patients with Parkinson's disease. A profound balance disorder, however, is an atypical feature. METHODS: Tandem gait performance (10 consecutive tandem steps) was judged in 36 consecutive patients with Parkinson's disease and 49 consecutive patients with atypical parkinsonism. RESULTS: Only 9 (18%) patients with atypical parkinsonism had a fully normal tandem gait (not a single side step) as opposed to 33 (92%) patients with Parkinson's disease. Analysis for the subgroup of patients with a disease duration of <3 years yielded the same diagnostic accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Tandem gait performance has a good diagnostic ability to differentiate patients with atypical parkinsonism from those with Parkinson's disease, and might be used as an additional "red flag" to assist existing clinical tests in identifying atypical parkinsonism.

Published 19 November 2006 in J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 77(12): 1367-9.
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