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Parkinson's Disease

Is Parkinson`s disease a kind of epilepsy?

11/24/2008

Question:

how can we differentiate between parkinson`s disease,myoclonic seizures and essential tremors (ET) as symptonps are quite similar?

Answer:

While to the patient and family, the movements that occur during some types of seizures, Benign Essential tremor and Parkinson's disease may look the same, to a neurologist, the picture is different among these conditions.

Parkinson's disease presents in some patients with a tremor that typically is a "rest tremor", that is, occurs when the patient is relaxed.

Myoclonis is a brief, fast-jerking movement that may occur in a variety of conditions. Myoclonic epilepsy can be distinguished by a workup that includes an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Benign Essential tremor may look like the tremor of Parkinson's disease, but is typically more prominent when the body part with the tremor is in use, such as when holding a fork or spoon. Additionally, Parkinson's disease has other features associated with it that are not seen in Benign Essential tremor.

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Response by:

Punit Agrawal, DO Punit Agrawal, DO
Assistant Professor of Neurology
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University