How to Diagnose Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder first described by Dr. James Parkinson in 1817. It is defined as the loss of dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons and is quite common, eventually affecting about 1 percent of all individuals over the age of 60. The following steps will show how to diagnose Parkinson's disease.

Instructions

• 1

  Observe the initial symptoms of Parkinson's disease. They tend to be nonspecific but may include constipation, depression, fatigue and difficulty sleeping. Some patients may notice a slight loss of dexterity while performing routine physical activities.

• 2

  Obtain the patient history. The onset of specific symptoms of Parkinson's disease is usually asymmetric and usually begins with a resting tremor in one hand. The tremors may be intermittent and usually becomes more severe with stress.

• 3

  Look for the three cardinal signs of Parkinson's disease: slow movements of the limbs, rigidity and resting tremors. Two of these symptoms must be present in order to make a clinical diagnosis. An unstable posture is also considered a defining symptom but it occurs too late in the disease to be helpful in diagnosis.

• 4

  Eliminate other possibilities. Laboratory tests are not directly helpful in diagnosing Parkinson's disease but the ceruloplasmin level should be measured as a screen for Wilson disease. Jakob-Creutzfeldt and other prion diseases must also be considered.

• 5

  Identify the possible causes of Parkinson's disease. This is usually challenging because most cases do not have a single cause. The most likely environmental factors include exposure to herbicides and pesticides, especially in patients who use well water and live close to an industrial plant that manufactures these chemicals.