Parkinsonism: Symptoms, treatment, and diagnosis

Parkinsonism is a disease that occurs when a person has symptoms and brain dysfunction commonly associated with Parkinson’s disease but also has other symptoms.

A person with Parkinsonism will usually have another disorder causing additional neurological symptoms.

• Parkinson's disease - Dysfunction and cell death of the portion of the brain that produces dopamine.
• Dopamine - Neurotransmitter that transmits signals between brain and nerve. It is partially responsible for making controlled movements in the body.

A person with Parkinsonism usually starts developing symptoms at anywhere from 50 to 80 years.

• difficulty showing facial expressions
• muscle stiffness
• slowed, affected movements
• speech changes
• tremor, especially of one hand

* A person with Parkinsonism may have some, but not all of the above. Since they also have an additional disorder that affects the brain’s functioning.

* For example, people with Parkinsonism often do not have the hand tremors that affect many people with Parkinson’s disease.