How Is Parkinsons Disease Diagnosed?
A doctor may diagnose a person with Parkinson’s disease based on the patient’s symptoms and medical history. No blood tests or x-rays can show whether a person has Parkinson’s disease. However, some kinds of x-rays can help your doctor make sure nothing else is causing your symptoms. If symptoms go away or get better when the person takes a medicine called levodopa, it’s fairly certain that he or she has Parkinson’s disease.
Diagnosis is based on symptoms. There is no specific diagnostic procedure or laboratory test to establish the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. For this reason, doctors diagnose Parkinson’s disease based on the symptoms and results of physical and neurological examinations. If a patient’s symptoms improve once he or she receives medication for Parkinson’s disease, the diagnosis is probably correct. Mild, early disease may be difficult for doctors to diagnose because it usually begins subtly. Diagnosis is especially difficult in older people, because aging can cause some of the same problems as Parkinson’s disease, such as loss of balance, slow movements, muscle stiffness, and stooped posture. No tests or imaging procedures can directly confirm the diagnosis. However, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be performed to look for a structural disorder that may be the cause of the symptoms. The diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is likely if drug treatment for t
The cardinal symptoms of Parkinson’s (resting tremor, slowness of movement (bradykinesia), balance problems (postural instability), and rigidity are the hallmarks of the disease. These symptoms, which often appear gradually yet with increasing severity, are usually what first bring patients to a neurologist for help. Typically, symptoms begin on one side of the body and migrate over time to the other side. There is no test (such as a blood test, brain scan or EEG) to make a diagnosis of PD. Instead, a doctor takes a careful medical history and performs a thorough neurological examination, looking in particular for two or more of the cardinal signs to be present. Frequently, the doctor will also look for responsiveness to Parkinson’s medications as further evidence that Parkinson’s is the correct diagnosis. Unfortunately, because there is no definitive test for Parkinson’s disease and because PD’s symptoms are similar to those of other neurological conditions, the misdiagnosis rate is s
Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and your past health and will do a neurological exam. A neurological exam includes questions and tests that show how well your nerves are working. For example, your doctor will watch how you move, check your muscle strength and reflexes, and check your vision. In some cases, your doctor may have you try a medicine. How this medicine works may help your doctor know if you have Parkinson’s disease. He or she will also ask questions about your mood. There are no lab or blood tests that can help your doctor know whether you have Parkinson’s. But you may have tests to help your doctor rule out other diseases that could be causing your symptoms. For example, you might have an MRI to look for signs of a stroke or brain tumor.
