Its not PD, its Parkinsonism!
This is a recognizable collection of physical signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings that occur together and point to a specific health condition or disease process
What is a Clinical Syndrome?
An absent response to this drug is used to distinguish Parkinson's plus syndromes from classic Parkinson's disease.
What is Levodopa?
The striatum of the basal ganglia is composed of these two anatomical structures
What is the caudate nucleus and the putamen?
Autoantibodies against postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction cause fatigable muscle weakness in this disorder.
What is myasthenia gravis?
These two classes of medications can cause drug-induced parkinsonism through dopamine D2 receptor blockade.
What are antipsychotics and antiemetics?
A patient presents with bradykinesia and rigidity but lacks this classic “pill-rolling” motor finding, raising suspicion for an atypical Parkinsonian syndrome.
What is resting tremor?
This is the primary neurotransmitter released by neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta.
What is dopamine?
A patient reports muscle weakness, weight loss, insomnia, palpitations, heat intolerance, and tremor.
What is hyperthyroidism?
In 1982, drug users who injected a bad batch of synthetic heroin developed severe, permanent Parkinson's disease almost overnight. Instead of forming their intended drug, they created this chemical instead.
What is MPTP?
This parkinson's plus syndrome inviolves nigrostriatal dopaminergic degeneration but differs from Parkinson disease by early, widespread cortical involvement, resulting in dementia, fluctuating cognition, and visual hallucinations.
What is Dementia with Lewy Bodies?
Dopamine binding to D2 receptors on striatal neurons inhibits this basal ganglia pathway, ultimately promoting movement.
What is the indirect pathway?
A patient with this neurodegenerative disorder presents with progressive muscle weakness, fasciculations, muscle atrophy, and hyperreflexia, with preserved sensation.
What is ALS?
A 72-year-old man presents with gait apraxia, urinary incontinence, and cognitive impairment. Brain imaging shows enlarged ventricles. This is the most likely cause of his parkinsonism.
What is Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus?
A patient develops parkinsonism alongside early dementia, fluctuating cognition, and visual hallucinations. The underlying pathology involves widespread neuronal aggregates of this protein.
What is α-synuclein?
These two structures are the major output nuclei of the basal ganglia and primarily exert inhibitory effects on the thalamus.
What are the globus pallidus internus (GPi) and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr)?
A patient presents with fatigue and generalized weakness. Labs show macrocytic anemia and hypersegmented neutrophils after following a strict vegan diet for several years.
What is vitamin B12 deficiency anemia?
A 15yoF presents to your office with jaundice, hepatomegaly, bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity. Her mom notes that she has been very irritable and has been doing worse in school. You suspect that this patient has a mutation in this gene.
What is ATP7B? (Wilsons Disease)
A patient presents with bradykinesia and rigidity but also develops early severe orthostatic hypotension, urinary incontinence, and poor coordination. This Parkinson-plus syndrome should be suspected.
What is multiple system atrophy (MSA)?
This basal ganglia structure excites the GPi and SNr via glutamate, increasing inhibition of the thalamus and suppressing movement.
What is the subthalamic nucleus?
A patient presents with proximal muscle weakness that improves with repeated use. Testing reveals antibodies against presynaptic voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels, consistent with Lambert-Eaton syndrome. This malignancy is classically associated with the condition.
What is small cell lung carcinoma?