Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis: Tests and Diagnostic Process

it is essentially clinical and is based on the presence of typical symptoms (tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia, postural disturbances, etc.), which can be detected during a thorough neurological examination.

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Patients with suspected Parkinson's disease should first consult their GP at the onset of the first symptoms and signs; on the basis of the reported disorders and clinical history, he will decide whether to refer the patient to further checks by a neurologist specialist (expert in diseases of the nervous system) or to a geriatrician (expert in the diseases of the elderly).

Significant signs for the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease are:

• The onset of unilateral symptoms;
• The progressive but slow course;
• The presence of the classic tremor at rest;
• The positive response to Levodopa treatment.

greater, for example, makes the voice feeble and induces changes in the gait, which becomes slow and rigid, reduces facial expressions and makes the face expressionless.

In the process there are other conditions to be excluded, such as Alzheimer's disease and the undesirable effects of some therapeutic protocols based on certain antipsychotics (eg haloperidol, chlorpromation, fluphenazine) and antihypertensive drugs (eg reserpine, alpha-methyl-dopa).