Presentation
(Table) 3) Pure akinesia with gait freezing (PAGF) is a rare presentation of PSP-tau pathology. [movementdisorders.org]
This is the classic symptom of the disorder, but it is not always present at initial presentation and can take a number of years to develop. [lecturio.com]
Presentation Variable presentation, depending on subtype. [patient.info]
Progressive supranuclear palsy presenting as primary lateral sclerosis but lacking parkinsonism, gaze palsy, aphasia, or dementia. / Nagao, Shigeto; Yokota, Osamu; Nanba, Reiko; Takata, Hiroshi; Haraguchi, Takashi; Ishizu, Hideki; Ikeda, Chikako; Takeda [okayama.pure.elsevier.com]
Most notably, a presentation with Parkinson syndrome and absent gaze palsy has been identified, with less severe PSP-tau pathology.Conclusions: In recognition of his seminal observations, we propose that the classic clinical presentation of PSP-tau pathology [discovery.ucl.ac.uk]
Entire Body System
- Falling
Devices that make walking safer, such as a walker that is weighted in the front, can be helpful to prevent falls. Shoes with built-up heels can also help decrease falling backwards. [bcm.edu]
Unlike Parkinson Disease, people often fall backward instead of forward. They may also develop severe stiffness in the neck. [brain.northwestern.edu]
PSP-Parkinsonism (PSP-P) is characterized by prominent early parkinsonism (tremor, limb bradykinesia, axial and limb rigidity) rather than falls and cognitive change. [orpha.net]
I am falling frequently. What should I do? Falls are one of the leading causes of injury, disability, and even death in the elderly. [movementdisorders.ufhealth.org]
The beginning stages of PSP include the inability to walk, falling spells, and stiffness. Falls experienced by a PSP patient are often described as having a state of dizziness, prior to actually falling. [webmd.com]
- Painter
") (1931-2007) Rae Ferren, American impressionist painter (1929-2016) Richard Frank, past leader of nonprofit Population Services International and first husband of Jane Harman, died 20 April 2014, age 77 [43] Phyllis Frelich, actress (1944-2014) Bob [ipfs.io]
Gastrointestinal
- Progressive Dysphagia
Patients present with disturbance of balance, a disorder of downward gaze and L-DOPA-unresponsive parkinsonism and usually develop progressive dysphagia and dysarthria leading to death from the complications of immobility and aspiration. [pmj.bmj.com]
Eyes
- Vertical Gaze Palsy
gaze palsy, aphasia, or dementia. [okayama.pure.elsevier.com]
Clifford Richardson identified patients in Toronto with a syndrome of supranuclear vertical gaze palsy, pseudobulbar palsy, axial rigidity-in-extension, and cognitive impairment. [discovery.ucl.ac.uk]
Vertical gaze palsy/down gaze abnormalities and we see greater impairment of Executive/prefrontal functions -neurological disorders affecting the ability to move both eyes in the same direction. [quizlet.com]
Progressive supranuclear palsy is characterized by decreased cognition, abnormal eye movements (supranuclear vertical gaze palsy), postural instability and falls, as well as parkinsonian features and speech disturbances 1-3. [radiopaedia.org]
The morphology of the midbrain in patients with vertical supranuclear gaze palsy resembles the morning glory flower, thus termed the morning glory sign. [patient.info]
- Diplopia
Common symptoms at disease onset include postural instability and falls, dysarthria, bradykinesia and visual disturbances such as diplopia, blurred vision, burning eyes, and light sensitivity. [patient.info]
Additional, and important symptoms to note, include: Diplopia Bradykinesia Burning eyes Blurred vision Sensitivity to light Rigidity of the spine Eye movement paralysis The eyelids of people with PSP might be held wide open with eye movement paralysis [disabled-world.com]
Despite her limited eye movements, the patient had not noted diplopia and denied vision changes. [webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu]
Because the eyes have trouble coming together to focus at short distances, the patient may complain of diplopia (double vision) when reading. [ipfs.io]
Psychiatrical
- Anhedonia
Patients can also have anhedonia, anxiety, and dysphoria. Ask about sleep, as they may have sleep disturbances even in early PSP. On examination, one expects to eventually find a Supranuclear ophthalmoparesis. [lecturio.com]
Face, Head & Neck
- Startled Facial Expression
Obvious facial signs may be present with examples including decreased blink rate and a “startled” facial expression, which results from rigid facial muscles, but these signs may not be present in the early stages of the disease. [bcm.edu]
Neurologic
- Irritability
Then came new symptoms: falls, tremors, difficulty speaking, troubled sleep, irritability. It was only when Swankie's GP was at a conference where a geriatrician was talking about PSP that the pieces started to fall into place. [theguardian.com]
As regards behavioral symptoms, an interview with relatives revealed depression, anxiety, apathy, irritability, and sleep disorders. [dovepress.com]
Cognitive symptoms include forgetfulness and personality changes, such as loss of interest in formerly pleasurable activities (apathy), impaired attention and concentration, depression, and increased irritability. [rarediseases.org]
They may lose interest in ordinary pleasurable activities or show increased irritability and forgetfulness. [ninds.nih.gov]
Behavior or personality changes - Irritation, grouchiness Memory loss, forgetfulness Apathy (indifference) Slowed thinking, reasoning, planning Inappropriate laughing or crying Angry or aggressive outbursts Slurred speech Swallowing problems - Solids [emedicinehealth.com]
- Axial Dystonia
Additional exam findings Musculoskeletal: Cervical dystonia, weakness of right upper extremity with transient tremor Gait: wide-based and slow Reflexes: positive grasp reflex and applause sign Mental Status: patient alert and appropriately responsive [webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu]
Over a period of 2 years, he progressed to complete vertical gaze palsy, axial dystonia, retrocollis, and generalized severe akinesia. [emedicine.medscape.com]
- Spastic Gait
Neurological examination at age 67 disclosed pseudobulbar palsy, spastic gait, hyperreflexia, and presence of bilateral Hoffmann and Babinski signs. [okayama.pure.elsevier.com]
- Palmomental Reflex
Glabellar and palmomental reflexes in parkinsonian disorders. Neurology. 2004;63:1096-8. Burrell JR, Hodges J.R, Rowe J.B. Cognition in corticobasal syndrome and progressive supranuclear palsy: A review. Mov Disord. 2014;29:684–93. [bcm.edu]
- Broad-Based Gait
The gait has a characteristic reeling or staggering quality, due to the stiff posture of the trunk and neck with irregular large steps forwards, which allow a distinction to be made from the veering broad based gait of cerebellar ataxia. [pmj.bmj.com]
Workup
[…] patients with PSP show the following abnormalities, although these are not specific for PSP: Diminished total sleep time Increased awakenings Progressive loss of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep [7, 8] Decreased REM–to–non-REM (NREM) quotient [9, 10] See Workup [emedicine.medscape.com]
However, the introduction of MR imaging into the routine workup of patients with suspected PSP or other parkisonian syndromes has been hampered by its low sensitivity and poor specificity and also by high variability, which can be heavily influenced by [ajnr.org]
Saliva
- Excessive Drooling
Antidepressants are often prescribed to treat patients with emotional apathy, depression, and pseudobulbar crying.[33] Amitriptyline can alleviate neck pain, insomnia, and excessive drooling, and gabapentin is useful in reducing dystonic pain.[39] Prognosis [eyewiki.aao.org]
Other ECG Findings
- Ischemic Changes
Symptomatic characteristics of parkinsonism and the width of substantia nigra pars compacta on MRI according to ischemic changes in the putamen and cerebral white matter: implications for the diagnosis of vascular parkinsonism. [ajnr.org]
Treatment
Management and treatment There is no treatment curing the disease. Classical PSP patients do not respond to levodopa treatment. [orpha.net]
Is there any treatment? There is currently no effective treatment for PSP, although scientists are searching for better ways to manage the disease. [my.clevelandclinic.org]
"Pinguin sign" in the midbrain, on top of the pons No effective treatment exist. Dopaminergic agents help some patients, but most are not. [quizlet.com]
Prognosis
Prognosis Progressively, patients become wheel-chair dependant due to the frequent falls. Difficulties in breathing and swallowing, and infections are the main causes of death, generally 4-8 years after onset of the disease. [orpha.net]
However, patients will benefit from accurate, early diagnosis that allows them to understand the prognosis, to avoid unnecessary tests and useless treatments, and to avail themselves of disease-specific support services. [medlink.com]
The prognosis for patients with PSP is poor, with the average time from onset of symptoms to death ranging from 5-9 years. [eyewiki.aao.org]
Etiology
Etiology PSP is a 4R tauopathy composed of a preponderance of four-repeat tau isoforms and a characteristic biochemical profile (doublet tau 64 and tau 69). The MAPT H1-clade specific sub-haplotype, H1c, is a risk factor for this disease. [orpha.net]
Epidemiology
Summary Epidemiology The prevalence is conservatively estimated at about 1/16,600. [orpha.net]
[…] to be described and their seminal report was followed by many case reports and case series from around the world. 8 The documentation of these individual cases and case series through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s have been followed by more recently by epidemiological [pmj.bmj.com]
Epidemiology [ 1, 9 ] The mean age of onset is 65 years. Virtually no autopsy-confirmed cases have been confirmed earlier than 40 years. PSP is a rare disease. [patient.info]
Pathophysiology
Academic clinicians, translational researchers and basic scientists are brought together to connect experimental findings made in different animal models to the clinical features, pathophysiology and treatment of human movement disorders. [books.google.com]
It is also useful for the investigation of the pathophysiology of diseases. [touchneurology.com]
The role of heredity in the pathophysiology of PSP remains elusive. Although there are anecdotal reports in the literature that describe apparent familial PSP, several larger series have not noted this association. [emedicine.medscape.com]
Pathophysiology of Movement Disorders Progressive Supranuclear Palsy It causes neuronal degeneration and loss in the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, colliculi, periaqueductal gray matter and the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum [lecturio.com]
In addition there must be a low to high density in at least three of the following structures: oculomotor complex, dentate nucleus, striatum, or medulla.[16, 33] Pathophysiology As stated previously, PSP is a known tauopathy. [eyewiki.aao.org]
Prevention
Collaborative Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials of Antiplatelet Therapy for Prevention of Death, Myocardial Infarction, and Stroke in High Risk Patients. [books.google.es]
Evaluation early on by a trained physical therapist, knowledgeable in Parkinsonism, is critical to help with gait, balance, and prevent falls. [movementdisorders.ufhealth.org]
Because of swallowing problems some patients require placement of a feeding tube directly into the stomach in order to maintain adequate nutrition and prevent aspiration pneumonia. [bcm.edu]
Is There A Way to Prevent Progressive Supranuclear Palsy? There is no known way to prevent PSP. Which Specialties of Doctors Diagnose and Treat PSP Symptoms? The medical care of a person with PSP usually involves a team of health professionals. [emedicinehealth.com]
(NNIPPS) Terminated NCT00211224 Phase 3 Riluzole 6 Effects of Coenzyme Q10 in PSP and CBD Completed NCT00532571 Phase 2, Phase 3 CoQ10 7 Study About Efficacy and Safety to Treat Multi-System-Atrophy Completed NCT00146809 Phase 3 Minocyline 8 Relapse Prevention [malacards.org]