Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the nervous system that impairs motor skills and other functions of the body. Hallmark symptoms of the disease include tremors, slow movement and loss of balance. However, these hallmark symptoms are also present in a variety of other diseases leading to the term parkinsonism, which is any condition that causes movement abnormalities seen in Parkinson's disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Lewy Body Dementia
Lewy Body Dementia,or LBD, is a rare and progressive brain disease that shares many characteristics with both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Lewy bodies are abnormal structures that develop in the brain leading to the characteristics of the disease. Symptoms that resemble Parkinson's disease include muscle rigidity, tremors and slow movement, while it resembles Alzheimer's disease through the loss of cognitive functions such as memory, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Encephalitis
A viral infection of the brain leading to inflammation is a condition referred to as encephalitis. It manifests as either primary or secondary encephalitis, based upon the origin of the infection, which can be caused by the herpes virus, arbovirus or rabies. Symptoms of encephalitis are most often mild and flu-like, but in serious cases, the symptoms of tremors, muscle weakness and paralysis resemble Parkinson's disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Also called Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, is a serious and rare brain disorder with no cure that can lead to life-threatening complications. The symptoms of the disorder, which include loss of balance and stiffness, eye movement difficulties, and memory loss, are a result of a deterioration of the cells that control movement in the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, the exact cause of the deterioration is unknown.
Corticobasal Degeneration
Corticobasal degeneration is a progressive neurological disorder that results in death within six to eight years of diagnosis due to complications, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Symptoms are caused by nerve cell shrinkage and death, which occurs gradually, leading to progressively more severe symptoms and eventually the inability to walk. Death is most often due to complications such as pneumonia or sepsis, a bacterial infection of the blood.
Shy-Drager Syndrome
Shy-Drager syndrome, or multiple system atrophy, is a degenerative disease in which nerve cells of the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary movement, shrink and deteriorate. This leads to impairments in brain structures that control blood pressure, heart rate and digestion, according to MedlinePlus. Damage to the nervous system also results in Parkinson's disease-like symptoms such as tremors and movement difficulties. Unfortunately there is no cure and the prognosis of Shy-Drager syndrome is poor, with an early death expected, according to MedlinePlus.
