title: Vascular parkinsonism: a case series of 17 patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report the clinical and neuroimaging findings in a case series of vascular parkinsonism (VP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen patients with VP were evaluated with motor, cognitive, and neuroimaging standardized tests and scales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients had arterial hypertension. Ten patients were male and the mean age of the whole sample was 75.8±10.1 years. The mean age of parkinsonism onset was 72.2±10.0 years. Common clinical features were urinary incontinence (88.2%), lower limb parkinsonism with freezing of gait and falls (82.3%), and pyramidal signs (76.4%). The mean Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn-Yahr scores were 72.5±21.6 points and 3.3±0.9 points, respectively. Sixteen (94.1%) patients had freezing of gait and executive dysfunction. Twelve (70.5%) patients had probable vascular dementia. The mean dose of levodopa was 530.9 mg/day. Unresponsiveness to the drug was confirmed by a 6.9 mean point reduction in the UPDRS score after the "practically defined off" test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This series provides a profile of VP with predominant lower-limb involvement, freezing of gait and falls, pyramidal signs, executive dysfunction, concomitant vascular dementia, and poor levodopa response.
authors.affiliation: Neurology Service, Hospital das Clínicas, Federal University of Minas Gerais.
authors.forename: Thiago Cardoso
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Vale
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caramelli
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cardoso
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D010302:Parkinson Disease, Secondary / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D007980:Levodopa