Parkinsonism (Q49459)

Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome characterised by four cardinal features: rest tremor, muscular rigidity, akinesia or bradykinesia, and postural disturbances which include shuffling gait and flexed posture and loss of postural reflexes. Bradykinesia and one other clinical feature is required to make a diagnosis of Parkinsonism. Parkinsonism may result from a variety of conditions including progressive neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson Disease or Atypical Parkinsonism where the progressive degeneration of nigral and other neurons leads to dopamine deficiency. Parkinsonism may also be a result of structural lesions such as strokes or tumours or blockage of dopamine receptors in the striatum by drugs such as neuroleptics.