What is the Difference Between Parkinson’s Disease and Parkinsonism?

Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a type of neurodegenerative cause associated with Parkinsonism or a clinical syndrome characterizes lesions present in one’s basal ganglia or predominantly within the substantia of nigra. Parkinson’s disease consists of 80% cases related to Parkinsonism.

Primary lesion associated with parkinson’s disease involves the degeneration of various neuromelanin neurons present in the stem of human brain, especially those present in pars compact of a substantial nigra.

Parkinson’s disease symptoms and cardinal motor signs associated with Parkinson’s disease will involve characteristics related to clinical picture of any resting motor, postural reflex impairment, akinesia, rigidity and many more. This problem evolves in a slow way.

In addition, doctors perform a definitive diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in the absence of a specific biologic maker of a disease.

Surgical or pharmacologic treatment of parkinson’s disease may be any one among the three prime conceptual categories, such as restorative, protective and symptomatic. Despite the main objective behind the treatment/therapy is to reverse the disability of one’s function, abolition of each sign and symptom has not become possible until now even though with medicine of very high dose.

Dementia related to Parkinson’s disease has estimated to affect minimum 20percent of the total patients with high prevalence among old-aged patients and less common among the people with young-onset problems.

Parkinsonism

Parkinsonism comes with a defining feature of bradykinesia or slowness associated with degradation and decrement of various repetitive movements or fatigue. Subtle bradykinesia takes place usually in normal elder population, but this case reflects a non-specific type of slowness instead of bradykinesia. Parkinson’s disease is a common type of neurodegenerative cause related to the problem of Parkinsonism. Other causes of the problem are corticobasal degeneration, supran clear palsy, atrophy of multiple systems and many more.

Other types of neurodegenerative conditions are available in the form of groups under a common term called atypical Parkinsonism or Parkinson-plus type of syndrome. These do not give responses to depaminergic treatments and usually come with worse prognosis as compared to any typical Parkinson’s disease. Degenerative causes involve difficulties in the diagnose procedures during the initial stages and during this instance, ancillary investigations will contain limited values.

Parkinsonism may even be of symptomatic one because of a large number of drug-related, vascular, infectious, structural and toxic and many more secondary causes. Among these, drug induced type of Parkinsonism is the common one and it includes agents responsible for blocking of post-synaptic dopamine i.e. D2 receptors, which come with relatively higher affinity and social valproate. Vascular Parkinsonism usually has a low emphasis on human body with concomitant type of cognitive impairment and gait disturbance.

What is the Difference Between Parkinson's Disease and Parkinsonism?

What is the Difference Between Parkinson’s Disease and Parkinsonism?

Parkinsonism indicates a generic term consisting of various symptoms, which individuals may see in patients of the Parkinson’s diseases, such as stiffness, tremor and slow movement. There are many other conditions, which may cause symptoms similar to those found in Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson disease on the other side is a specific health problem/procedure, which leads to respective symptoms of Parkinsonism. Neurologists usually determine the exact cause of Parkinsonism based on detailed medical history, health examination and placing order of blood tests or image procedures including the scan test of MRI.

Parkinsonism involves the syndrome of containing a combination of slow movement, body stiffness and tremor. Most of the related health problems may result in Parkinsonian symptoms or Parkinsonism, including the problem of Parkinson’s disease, atypical parkinson’s disease syndrome and vascular Parkinsonism.

Parkinson’s disease particularly refers to various patients dealing with Parkinsonism and do not possess any atypical feature and essentially possesses normal MRI excusing other causes related to Parkinsonian symptoms.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:September 25, 2018

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