Parkinson's disease is a motor system disorder that affects movement. Though there is no cure for Parkinson's, medications are available to treat the symptoms. Nearly a million people suffer from Parkinson's disease, according to The Parkinson's Disease Foundation. Diagnosis is difficult because there are no definitive tests for the disorder. Symptoms, called parkinsonisms, can be caused by a variety of other disorders, and wrong diagnoses are common. A medical doctor will consider the below categories when making a diagnosis.
Step 1
Visit with a medical doctor to discuss your family medical history. Any medications you're taking currently will also be reviewed.
Step 2
Have a neurological exam. A doctor will ask you to walk and will observe your movement and stability. A doctor will also give you fine motor exercises during which you will perform hand movements that the doctor will observe.
Step 3
Look for the three common symptoms of Parkinson's: tremors, rigidity of the trunk and extremeties, and slow motion. Symptoms generally occur on one side of the body. A physician will look for two of the three common symptoms of Parkinson's to consider a diagnosis. However, other disease can also show these symptoms, and other factors such as your medical exam and family history must be considered as well.
Step 4
Note a positive response to the drug levodopa, which mimics dopamine, a chemical naturally produced by the body but found in lower-than-normal quantities in Parkinson's patients. Levodopa relieves Parkinson's symptoms temporarily. The common consensus is that a person most likely has the disease if symptoms decline once levodopa is taken on a regular basis.
Step 5
Undergo brain scans and additional laboratory tests to rule out diseases that mimic Parkinson's. Diseases that mimic Parkinson's, or have similar signs and symptoms, include Lewy Body Dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Tips and Warnings
- There are no medical exams that are used to diagnose Parkinson's disease while a person is alive. Parkinson's can only be 100 percent diagnosed when a brain autopsy is preformed post mortem.
