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Parkinson's Disease Learning Center
Symptoms could include:
- Depression
- Dementia
- Tremor
- Involuntary Movemen...
- Muscle Rigidity
- Depressed Mood
- Hand Tremor
- Loss of Balance
- Poor Balance
- Unsteady Gait
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Slow Movements
- Alteration In Consc...
- Abnormal coordinati...
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Flat Affect
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Expressionless Face
- Gait Abnormality
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Difficulty Eating
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Mask-Like Facies
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Posture Abnormal
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Gait, Shuffling
- Ataxia
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Fine Motor Impairment
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Freezing In One Posture
- Pain
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Constipation
- Memory Loss
- Muscle Pain
- Slurred Speech
- Teeth Grinding
- Muscle Stiffness
- Choking
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Catatonia
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Staring
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Head Tremor
- Muscle Spasticity
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Frequent Falls
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Incoherent Speech
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Monotone Voice
- Loss of sense of sm...
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Difficulty Initiating Movement
- Change In Bowel Hab...
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Decreased Blinking
- Dystonia
- Speech Articulation...
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Hard to Awaken
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Chokes When Swallowing
- Aimless Movement
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Difficulty Speaking at Normal Rate
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Symptoms may be mild at first. For instance, the patient may have a mild tremor or a slight feeling that one leg or foot is stiff and dragging.
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Early symptoms of PD often are quite subtle, developing on one or both sides of the body. The primary symptoms of PD are: tremors (shaking) while at rest. (The classic PD tremor is the rubbing of the thumb and forefinger at a frequency of about th...
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The identifying symptoms of PD include: Tremors, usually beginning in the hands, often occurring on one side before the other. The classic tremor of PD is called a pill-rolling tremor, because the movement resembles rolling a pill between the thum...
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The immediate cause of PD is degeneration of brain cells in the area known as the substantia nigra, one of the movement control centers of the brain. Damage to this area leads to the cluster of symptoms known as "parkinsonism." In PD, degenerating...
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In the vast majority of cases, the cause of PD is un-known. Besides old age, there are several well-recognized risk factors. These include exposure to pesticides or herbicides, rural living, and drinking well water. Because of this, it is assumed ...
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The immediate cause of PD is degeneration of brain cells in the area known as the substantia nigra, one of the movement control centers of the brain. Damage to this area leads to the cluster of symptoms known as "parkinsonism." In PD, degenerating...
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The immediate cause of PD is degeneration of brain cells in the area known as the substantia nigra, one of the movement control centers of the brain. Damage to this area leads to the cluster of symptoms known as "parkinsonism." In PD, degenerating...
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Depression, also known as depressive disorders or unipolar depression, is a mental illness characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in slee...
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Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. See also: Alzheimer's disease
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Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, and behavior. See also: Dementia; Alzheimer disease.
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Dementia is a condition characterized by a chronic decline in cognitive functions contrasted with a person's usual state of functioning. It is seen most often in people sixty-five years and older, and the incidence increases with age. Dementia occ...
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Dementia is a loss of mental ability severe enough to interfere with normal activities of daily living, lasting more than six months, not present since birth, and not associated with a loss or alteration of consciousness.
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Dementia is not a specific disorder or disease. It is a syndrome (group of symptoms) associated with a progressive loss of memory and other intellectual functions that is serious enough to interfere with the tasks of daily life. Dementia can occur...
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Dementia is not a specific disorder or disease. It is a syndrome (group of symptoms) associated with a progressive loss of memory and other intellectual functions that is serious enough to interfere with the tasks of daily life. Dementia can occur...
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Dementia is a loss of mental ability severe enough to interfere with normal activities of daily living, lasting more than six months, not present since birth, and not associated with a loss or alteration of consciousness.
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Dementia is not a specific disorder or disease. It is a syndrome (group of symptoms) associated with a progressive loss of memory and other intellectual functions that is serious enough to interfere with performing the tasks of daily life. Dementi...
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The term dementia refers to symptoms, including changes in memory, personality, and behavior, that result from a change in the functioning of the brain. These declining changes are severe enough to impair the ability of a person to perform a funct...
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Dementia is a condition characterized by a progressive, irreversible decline in mental ability, accompanied by changes in behavior and personality. There is commonly a loss of memory and skills that are required to carry out activities of daily li...
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Tremor is an unintentional (involuntary) rhythmical alternating movement that may affect the muscles of any part of the body. Tremor is caused by the rapid alternating contraction and relaxation of muscles and is a common symptom of diseases of th...
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Tremor is an unintentional (involuntary), rhythmical alternating movement that may affect the muscles of any part of the body. Tremor is caused by the rapid alternating contraction and relaxation of muscles and is a common symptom of diseases of t...
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Tremor is an unintentional (involuntary), rhythmical alternating movement that may affect the muscles of any part of the body. Tremor is caused by the rapid alternating contraction and relaxation of muscles and is a common symptom of diseases of t...
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Uncontrollable movements are slow, twisting, continuous, and involuntary movements of the arms, legs, face, neck, or other parts of the body. See also: Tardive dyskinesia
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Movement disorders are a group of diseases and syndromes affecting the ability to produce and control bodily movements.
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Muscle rigidity is an alteration of muscle tone in which the muscles are in an involuntary state of continual tension. Muscle rigidity can be a manifestation of neurological damage (basal ganglia diseases) or a side effect of certain medications.
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Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, o...
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Depression is sometimes referred to as the common cold of mental illness. It is a debilitating disease with significant societal costs. It is, however, one of the most clearly defined and treatable of mental illnesses. Technically, the term "depre...
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Everybody feels sad sometimes, but to be clinically depressed is not just a matter of feeling sad. A patient with cancer is diagnosed as having major depression only if certain symptoms, such as loss of pleasure or thoughts of death, are present f...
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An emotional state or mood characterized by one or more of these symptoms: sad mood, low energy, poor concentration, sleep or appetite changes, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, and thoughts of suicide. Until recently, it was thought that...
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Depression is the general name for a family of illnesses known as depressive disorders. Depression is an illness that affects not only the mood and thoughts, but also the physical functions of affected individuals. Depressive disorders usually res...
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Depression and depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep , appetite...
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Depression is the general name for a family of illnesses known as depressive disorders. Depression is an illness that affects not only the mood and thoughts, but also the physical functions of affected individuals. Depressive disorders usually res...
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Depression or depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, ...
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Depression or depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, ...
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A depressive disorder is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. It encompasses feelings of overwhelming sadness and despair that persist or intensify over time.
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A tremor is a type of involuntary shaking movement. Involuntary means you shake without trying to do so. A tremor is often most noticeable in your hands, but may affect any body part (even your head or voice. There are three main types of tremors:...
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Unsteady gait is a symptom of instability while walking. Problems with walking can be due to disease or injury to the legs, feet, spine, or brain.
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Gait and balance problems exist when a disease process, trauma, or aging result in the inability to control one's center of gravity (COG) over the base of support (BOS) in static or dynamic tasks and environments.
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Gait or walking is a coordinated action of the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems. The coordination of muscle contraction , joint movement, and sensory perception allows the human body to move in the environment. Individuals with neuromuscu...
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Gait training refers to helping a patient relearn to walk safely and efficiently. Gait training is usually done by rehabilitation specialists who evaluate the abnormalities in the person's gait and employ such treatments as strengthening and balan...
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Decreased consciousness is reduced alertness or awareness.
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Uncoordinated movement is muscle control problem or an inability to finely coordinate movements, which results in a jerky, unsteady, to-and-fro motion of the middle of the body (trunk) and unsteady gait (walking style. The condition is called ataxia.
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Walking abnormalities are unusual and uncontrollable walk patterns, usually caused by diseases or injuries to the legs, feet, brain, spine, or inner ear.
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Abnormal posturing is different from what is commonly called "bad posture" or "slouching." Instead, it is a tendency to hold a particular body position, or to move one or more parts of the body in a particular way. This phenomenon is an important ...
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Ataxia, a medical term originated from the Greek language meaning "without order," refers to disturbances in the control of body posture, motor coordination, speech control, and eye movements. Several brain areas, including the cerebellum and the ...
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Lack of coordination in the muscles. Ataxia, an extreme lack of coordination of the muscles, is a symptom of damage to the central nervous system. People with ataxia typically stand with feet planted far apart, and sway while standing, struggling ...
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Developmental coordination disorder is diagnosed when children do not develop normal motor coordination (coordination of movements involving the voluntary muscles).
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Pain is a universal human experience. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage...
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Pain, medically termed "nociception," is a response to noxious stimuli that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons . The discomfort signals actual or impending injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awaren...
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Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awareness of pain; it also includes perception, ...
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Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by nerves in the body.
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Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awareness of pain; it also includes perception, ...
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Question: Do most men have difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection (impotence) as they grow older? Answer: Getting older does not mean you will experience impotence, although in many men, sexual responses may become slower and less intense...
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Erectile dysfunction (ED) may be defined as the consistent inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient to permit satisfactory sexual intercourse. The word "consistent" is included in the definition because most men experience transient...
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Impotence, often called erectile dysfunction, refers to the male's inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to engage in sexual intercourse.
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Impotence, also known as erectile dysfunction, is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to engage in sexual intercourse.
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Constipation refers to infrequent or hard stools, or difficulty passing stools. Constipation may involve pain during the passage of a bowel movement, inability to pass a bowel movement after straining or pushing for more than 10 minutes, or no bow...
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Constipation is an acute or chronic condition in which bowel movements occur less often than usual or consist of hard, dry stools that are painful or difficult to pass. Bowel habits vary, but an adult who has not had a bowel movement in three days...
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Difficulty with producing a bowel movement, or infrequent bowel movements. Constipation, a condition that can affect the human digestive system at any stage of life, is rarely serious or chronic. Because bowel functions vary from individual to ind...
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Constipation is an acute or chronic condition in which bowel movements occur less often than usual or consist of hard, dry stools that are painful or difficult to pass. Although constipation is a relative term, with normal patterns of bowel moveme...
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Constipation is an acute or chronic condition in which bowel movements occur less often than usual or consist of hard, dry stools that are painful or difficult to pass. Bowel habits vary, but an adult who has not had a bowel movement in three days...
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Memory loss (amnesia) is unusual forgetfulness.
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Memory loss can be partial or total. Most memory loss occurs as part of the normal aging process. However, memory loss may also occur as a result of severe emotional trauma or due to brain damage following disease or physical trauma. Memory loss c...
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Amnesia refers to the loss of memory. Memory loss may result from two-sided (bilateral) damage to parts of Memory loss may result from bilateral damage to the limbic system of the brain responsible for memory storage, processing, and recall. (Illu...
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Muscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle. Muscle pain also can involve ligaments, tendons, and fascia, the soft tissues that connect muscles, bones, and organs. See also: Muscle cramps; Joint pain.
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Speech and language impairment may be any of several problems that make it difficult to communicate. See also: Stuttering; Expressive language disorder - developmental.
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Dysarthria is a speech diagnostic term that can be used to classify various types of neuromuscular speech disturbances. Dysarthria results from notable degrees of one or more abnormalities involving speech musculature, including weakness, paralysi...
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Dysarthria is a group of speech impairments due to weakness, incoordination, spasticity, rigidity, or irregular movements caused by damage to the nervous system.
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Bruxism is when you clench (tightly hold your top and bottom teeth together) or grind (slide your teeth back and forth over each other) your teeth.
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Bruxism is the habit of clenching and grinding the teeth. It most often occurs at night during sleep, but it may also occur during the day. It is an unconscious behavior, perhaps performed to release anxiety , aggression, or anger.
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Bruxism is the habit of clenching and grinding the teeth. It most often occurs at night during sleep, but may also occur during the day. It is an unconscious behavior or habit perhaps performed to release anxiety , aggression, or anger.
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Bruxism is a habitual grinding or clenching of the teeth. The behavior is usually unconscious, occurs most often during sleep, and is a reaction to periods of stress in the patient's life.
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Muscle stiffness is feeling of tension and contraction in the muscles, that may limit normal range of motion. Sometimes muscles feel stiff after periods of vigorous use, for example athletic activities, physical labor or weight lifting.
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Choking is when someone can't breathe because food, a toy, or other object is blocking the airway (throat or windpipe.
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Choking is a condition caused by inhalation of a foreign object that partially or fully blocks the airway.
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Blockage of the throat or windpipe by an object. Choking is a major cause of death for children under three, and is a hazard for older children as well. Young children explore the world with their mouths, and they will naturally put in their mouth...
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Choking is the inability to breathe because the trachea is blocked, constricted, or swollen shut.
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Catatonia is a disturbance of motor behavior that can have either a psychological or neurological cause. Its most well-known form involves a rigid, immobile position that is held by a person for a considerable length of time— often days, weeks, or...
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Catatonia is a condition marked by changes in muscle tone or activity associated with a large number of serious mental and physical illnesses. There are two distinct sets of symptoms that are characteristic of this condition. In catatonic stupor t...
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Spasticity is stiff or rigid muscles with exaggerated, deep tendon reflexes (for example, a knee-jerk reflex. The condition can interfere with walking, movement, or speech. See also: Muscle cramps
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Spasticity is a form of muscle overactivity. A spastic muscle is one in which a muscle resists being stretched out, and the resistance to stretch is greater the faster the muscle is moved. Spasticity is often used as an umbrella term for other for...
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Spasticity is an abnormal increase in muscle tone. It may be associated with involuntary muscle spasms , sustained muscle contractions (dystonia), and exaggerated deep tendon reflexes that make movement difficult or uncontrollable. Although it mos...
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Falls are a common source of injury, particularly in the elderly population. They are more likely to occur if impairments in balance, strength, perception, joint range of motion, postural function or coordination are present. Serious injury from f...
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The term anosmia means lack of the sense of smell. It may also refer to a decreased sense of smell. Ageusia, a companion word, refers to a lack of taste sensation. Patients who actually have anosmia may complain wrongly of ageusia, although they r...
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The term anosmia means lack of the sense of smell. It may also refer to a decreased sense of smell. Ageusia, a companion word, refers to a lack of taste sensation. Patients who actually have anosmia may complain wrongly of ageusia, although they r...
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Bowel movements normally occur at approximately the same time each day. The feces (stool) itself should be soft enough that it can be passed without straining.
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Uncontrolled or slow movement is defined as a problem with muscle tone, usually in large muscle groups, that leads to slow involuntary contractions of the head, limbs, trunk, or neck. See also: Movement - unpredictable or jerky; Stereotypic moveme...
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Dystonia is a group of complex neurological movement disorders. While the disorders vary in their symptoms, causes, progression, and treatment, dystonia is characterized by involuntary muscle contractions and spasms that result in abnormal posture...
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Dystonia is a group of complex neurological movement disorders. While the disorders vary in their symptoms, causes, progression, and treatment, dystonia is characterized by involuntary muscle contractions and spasms that result in abnormal posture...
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Dystonia is a disabling movement disorder characterized by sustained contraction of muscles leading to twisting distorted postures. Dystonia may affect various parts of the body and has multiple causes, making classification and diagnosis challeng...
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Aimless movements can be a symptom of a primary or secondary movement disorder, side effect of a medication, psychiatric disturbance or dementia. Aimless or purposeless movement is therefore a significant symptom requiring evaluation by a physician to determine the origin of the problem.
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