Are these signs of Parkinson's disease?

Question

My husband and I once met a man who was very fidgiety. He was holding a piece of paper, and he kept rolling it up and unrolling it on the table we were sitting at. His body was moving a lot, and when he wasn't speaking, his lips were twitching a lot. Are these signs of parkinsons disease? The same illness that Michael J. Fox and Muhommad Ali have?

Answer 1

Sounds like a combination of Tourette's Syndrome, and just overall nervousness. The nervousness could be because he has Tourette's. Doesn't sound like Parkinson's though.

Answer 2

It appears h is suffering from Parkinson's disease. However please note the following about this disease.

Parkinson's disease (also known as Parkinson disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that affects the control of muscles, and so may affect movement, speech and posture. Parkinson's disease belongs to a group of conditions called movement disorders. It is often characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement (bradykinesia), and in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement (akinesia). The primary symptoms are the results of excessive muscle contraction, normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the brain. Secondary symptoms may include high level cognitive dysfunction and subtle language problems. PD is both chronic, meaning it persists over a long period of time, and progressive.

PD is the most common cause of parkinsonism, a group of similar symptoms. PD is also called "primary parkinsonism" or "idiopathic PD" ("idiopathic" meaning of no known cause). While most forms of parkinsonism are idiopathic, there are some cases where the symptoms may result from toxicity, drugs, genetic mutation, head trauma, or other medical disorders.

Symptoms of Parkinson's disease have been known and treated since ancient times. However, it was not formally recognised and its symptoms were not documented until 1817 in An Essay on the Shaking Palsy by the British physician James Parkinson. Parkinson's disease was then known as paralysis agitans. The underlying biochemical changes in the brain were identified in the 1950s, due largely to the work of Swedish scientist Arvid Carlsson who later went on to win a Nobel Prize. L-dopa entered clinical practice in 1967, and the first study reporting improvements in patients with Parkinson's disease resulting from treatment with L-dopa was published in 1968.

Parkinson disease affects movement (motor symptoms). Typical other symptoms include disorders of mood, behavior, thinking, and sensation (non-motor symptoms). Individual patients' symptoms may be quite dissimilar; progression is also distinctly individual.

Answer 3

No, it sounds more like Tourette's syndrome. Parkinson's disease sufferers have a slow tremor, and the further the disease is advanced, the more pronounced the tremor is. I mean I guess the guy could have Parkinson's but it does sound more like Tourette's.

Answer 4

The earliest symptom of Parkinson's disease can be as subtle as an arm that doesn't swing when you walk, a mild tremor in the fingers of one hand or soft, mumbling speech that's difficult to understand. You may lack energy, feel depressed or have trouble sleeping. Or you may notice that it takes you longer to shower, shave, eat or do other routine tasks.

Other signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease may include:

Tremor. This often starts with a slight shaking in your hand or even one finger. Sometimes hand tremor causes a back-and-forth rubbing of your thumb and forefinger known as pill-rolling. Tremor may also develop in your legs. These signs may occur on one or both sides of your body and may be more noticeable when you're under stress. Although tremor can be very distressing, it's usually not disabling and often disappears when you're sleeping. Many people with Parkinson's disease do not experience substantial tremor.
Slowed motion (bradykinesia). Over time, Parkinson's disease may cause a slow, shuffling walk with an unsteady gait and stooped posture. And leg muscles may freeze up, making it hard to resume normal movement. This is especially distressing because it can make performing the simplest tasks difficult and time-consuming.
Rigid muscles. Muscle stiffness (rigidity) often occurs in your limbs and neck. Sometimes the stiffness can be so severe that it limits the size of your movements and causes pain.
Impaired balance. Your posture may become unstable as a result of Parkinson's disease. Often this problem remains minor for many years.
Loss of automatic movements. Blinking, smiling and swinging your arms when you walk are all unconscious acts that are a normal part of being human. In Parkinson's disease, these acts tend to be diminished and even lost. Some people may develop a fixed staring expression and unblinking eyes. Others may no longer gesture or seem animated when they speak.
Impaired speech. Many people with Parkinson's disease have some trouble speaking, and their voices often become monotonous and very soft. This may be a special problem for older adults because the soft voice of a person with Parkinson's disease may not be audible to a spouse with poor hearing.
Difficulty swallowing. This may develop in the later stages of the disease, but except in rare cases, most people who have trouble swallowing can continue to eat on their own.
Dementia. A small percentage of people with Parkinson's develop this mental disorder — which affects the ability to think, reason and remember — late in the course of the disease. Although it's often associated with Alzheimer's disease, dementia can also occur with other conditions. In Parkinson's, the onset of dementia is often marked by slowed thought processes and problems with concentration.

Answer 5

yeah sounds like it