Using biomarkers to disentangle different causes of Parkinsonism
- Dag Aarsland1,2,3,
- Per Svenningsson1,2
- 1Department of Neurobiology, Ward and Society; Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- 2Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- 3Centre for Age-Related Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
- Correspondence to Dag Aarsland, Department of Neurobiology, Ward and Society; Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre, Karolinska Institutet, Novum, 141 86 Stockholm, Sweden; dag.aarsland{at}ki.se
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Contributors DA wrote the first draft. Both authors contributed in the critical revision of the draft.
- Received 30 June 2012
- Accepted 6 August 2012
- Published Online First 4 September 2012
Parkinsonism is a clinical motor syndrome characterised by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability and gait disturbance. Among the many causes, neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and drug induced or vascular Parkinsonism (VP), are the most common.1 With the increasing number of elderly people, the prevalence of Parkinsonism is increasing. Accurate diagnosis of Parkinsonism is important for optimal management. Whereas much is known about the underlying mechanisms of PD, the mechanism and diagnostic markers of VP remain largely unknown. For example, it is unclear why the lower limbs are more commonly affected in VP when compared …
