How is Parkinson Disease Diagnosed?

How Parkinson's disease is diagnosed is mainly by the doctors observations. There is no real testing that can be done to diagnose Parkinson's.

Diagnosing Parkinson's disease can be a complicated process. Because there are no laboratory tests that can confirm you have the disease, your doctor will need to consider your medical history, assess your symptoms, and sometimes perform tests to rule out other conditions before making a Parkinson's disease diagnosis. What causes Parkinson’s to develop in the first place is still a mystery, but scientists know that the disease process begins when the brain becomes deficient in a chemical called dopamine.

With diminishing amounts of dopamine, a person with Parkinson’s will, among other issues, have trouble moving, experience tremors, and move more slowly. The disease typically affects people over 50 years of age. To find out if you have Parkinson’s disease, you might want to consider visiting a neurologist — a doctor who specializes in disorders affecting the nervous system — especially a neurologist whose specialty is in movement disorders like Parkinson's disease.

You may also want to speak with a doctor who is familiar with new research and therapies for Parkinson's, as well as a gerontologist — a doctor who specializes in problems of the elderly. Because Parkinson's disease is a condition that gets worse over time, early diagnosis is essential, so you can start taking steps to reduce your symptoms and perhaps even slow the progression of the disease. Your doctor will start by reviewing your medical historyand asking questions about other factors that may be contributing to your symptoms, such as the use of dopamine-blocking medications like Haldol (haloperidol) and Prolixin (fluphenazine).

Your doctor will also ask you, and perhaps family members or friends who accompany you to appointments, about the symptoms you have been experiencing. There are four primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. If your symptoms are more pronounced on one side of your body than another, a Parkinson's diagnosis is even more likely.

No medical tests can specifically diagnose Parkinson's disease, but your doctor may order certain tests to rule out other conditions. This test looks at the electrical activity in your brain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans.

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