title: Vascular parkinsonism--an important cause of parkinsonism in older people.
abstract: Parkinsonism due to cerebrovascular disease (vascular parkinsonism, VP) is a distinct clinicopathological entity. It accounts for 4.4-12% of all cases of parkinsonism. Since there are no specific diagnostic criteria, true incidence and prevalence rates of VP are not known. Typically, parkinsonism in slow-onset VP tends to be bilaterally symmetrical, affecting the lower limbs more than the upper limbs ('lower-body parkinsonism'), and resting tremor is usually absent. Commonly noted lesions on brain imaging in VP are lacunes, white matter changes and, rarely, territorial infarcts. As coincidental vascular lesions in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) are common, the mere presence of these lesions on brain imaging is not diagnostic of VP. Pathological evidence of a vascular disease in the absence of typical PD lesions (e.g. Lewy bodies) is the diagnostic 'gold standard'. VP is generally considered to be poorly or non-responsive to L-dopa therapy. However, recent studies have shown a beneficial effect of L-dopa in a subset of patients. Despite great advances in overall understanding of the disease, there are several gaps in our knowledge.
authors.affiliation: Leicester Royal Infirmary, Medicine for the Care of Older People, Leicester, UK. bthanvi@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Bhomraj
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thanvi
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D006801:Humans; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D010302:Parkinson Disease, Secondary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D007980:Levodopa