The Doctor Diagnosed My Husband With Parkinsonism? Does Anyone Else Have That?
The Doctor Diagnosed My Husband With Parkinsonism? Does Anyone Else Have That?
Some good articles about msa http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/msa/detail_m...
https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/multiple...
Treatment:
here is no specific treatment for MSA. Treatment is aimed at controlling the symptoms of the disease. Drugs that are used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease, most notably levodopa (given in tablets of Sinemet), may also be prescribed for individuals with MSA. However, the effectiveness of such medications varies greatly among affected individuals. In many cases, individuals do not respond or respond poorly to such therapy. Approximately 1/3 of affected individuals respond to levodopa therapy. However, in most cases, the effectiveness of this therapy decreases over time. In addition, these drugs must be used with caution because they may lower blood pressure.
From http://parkinsonsaction.org/about-pan/parkinson...
This article gives a good summary of the difference.
Parkinsonism is the clinical definition of a variety of different underlying pathologies that can cause Parkinson’s-like symptoms such as slowing of movement, tremor, rigidity or stiffness, and balance problems. There are a number of disorders that can produce the symptoms referred to as Parkinsonisms; Parkinson’s disease is just one of them.
So, what’s the difference between being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and having what are known as Parkinsonisms? According to Dr. Dickson the typical Parkinson’s patient has Lewy bodies (aggregates of a protein called alpha-synuclein) in the brain’s neurons. When that patient is given dopamine replacement therapy (e.g., Sinemet), those symptoms go away.
By contrast, Parkinsonisms – also sometimes referred to as atypical Parkinson’s –have features in addition to typical Parkinson’s disease symptoms, and those symptoms do not respond to dopamine replacement therapy.
Hi - I have a Parkinsons other type of illness called Multiple System Atrophy or MSA. I know the different kinds are treated differently. I don't know much about it.
My husband is being treated for Parkinson
