by Neil R. Greenspan, MD, FACG What is constipation and why is it important? Constipation is the most common...see more gastrointestinal complaint affecting approximately 15 % of the North American population. Certain subgroups have an even higher risk (e.g. in the over 65 population 26% of men and 34% of women are affected). It is remarkable […]

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Some of the lessons that doctors learn are incorporated into clinical practice but may never get written down because...see more these common sense, hard learned observations aren’t “publishable.” They comprise the “art” of medical practice. One of the central problems in Parkinson’s Disease is the difficulty in doing two things at the same time. There is […]

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One of the major problems in Parkinson’s Disease is called “bradykinesia,” which means “slow” (brady) “movement” (kinesia). This is...see more somewhat different than “akinesia” which is discussed in a different section. Bradykinesia is one of the most disabling features of PD They move slowly, so they do everything more slowly than they used to. This means […]

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Rhinorrhea is the technical term for runny nose. It literally means “fluid from the nose” and can refer to...see more anything flowing from it. Carol Jacques, the nurse practitioner who worked with me for several years, pointed out many years ago that a lot of our patients with Parkinson’s disease had a runny nose. I didn’t […]

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What is Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis? As Parkinson’s Disease progresses, up to 40 percent of the approximately one million Americans...see more living with the illness will develop psychotic symptoms, primarily hallucinations, but also delusions. These symptoms can be an indication of Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP), but unfortunately, many patients are not diagnosed. Sometimes, the symptoms of PDP […]

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One of the many issues that Parkinson’s Disease patients often have that no one understands are good days and...see more bad days. So many times, Parkinson’s Disease patients come into the office and the patient or family says, “Today’s a good day, he’s not usually this good at home.” “Today’s a bad day. Usually he can […]

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by Elliott Perlman, MD PD patients often have a lot of difficulty with their vision, although, when I examine...see more them in the office, the visual acuity is often normal. Problems can come from difficulty in moving the eyes and eyelids, as well problems with blinking and dryness. Most of these conditions arise from Parkinson’s Disease […]

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There is no test to diagnose Parkinson’s Disease Although Parkinson’s disease is a specific, well defined disease that can...see more be reliably diagnosed at autopsy, it is defined in life by clinical criteria. This means that the diagnosis rests entirely on the information (history) that the patient provides plus the physical examination. There is no test […]

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Dementia is an umbrella term that is defined by a decline in memory and cognitive, or thinking, skills to...see more a level that interferes with normal function. It is normal for older people to have more problems remembering names and faces than they had before, but this does not interfere with normal activities in most cases. […]

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Understanding the differences between Parkinsonism and Parkinson Plus syndromes “Parkinsonism” means “looks like Parkinson’s disease.” To neurologists this means...see more that the person has a somewhat flexed posture, moves slowly, is stiff and usually walks slowly, with small steps and reduced or no arm swing. We call the syndromes “atypical” because they usually differ from Parkinson’s […]

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