About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffNo definitive tests exist for Parkinson's disease, so it can be difficult to diagnose, especially in the early stages. And parkinsonism — the symptoms of Parkinson's disease — can be caused by many other types of problems. For example, other neurological disorders, toxins, head trauma and even some medications — such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), prochlorperazine (Compazine) or metoclopramide (Reglan) — can cause parkinsonism.
A diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is based on your medical history and a neurological examination:
- Medical history. As part of your medical history, your doctor will want to know about any medications you take and whether you have a family history of Parkinson's.
- Neurological exam. This examination includes an evaluation of your walking and coordination, as well as some simple hand tasks.
A diagnosis of Parkinson's is most likely if you have:
- At least two of the three cardinal Parkinson's signs and symptoms — tremor, slowing of motion and muscle rigidity
- Onset of symptoms on only one side of the body
- Tremor more pronounced at rest, for example, when your hands are resting in your lap
- Significant improvement with levodopa, a Parkinson's drug
- Parkinson's disease: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/parkinsons_disease/detail_parkinsons_disease.htm. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Parkinson's disease. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec16/ch221/ch221g.html. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Chou KL. Clinical manifestations of Parkinson disease. http://wwwuptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 12, 2010.
- Stacy M. Medical treatment of Parkinson disease. Neurology Clinics. 2009;27:605.
- Schapira AHV. Etiology and pathogenesis of Parkinson disease. Neurology Clinics. 2009;27:583.
- Gallager C. Parkinson's disease. In: Rakel D. Integrative Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192217229-3/976194918/1494/64.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2954-0..50021-1_683. Accessed March 31, 2010.
- Tarsy D. Pharmacological treatment of Parkinson disease. http://wwwuptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 12, 2010.
- Fitness counts. National Parkinson Foundation. http://www2.parkinson.org/Document.Doc?&id=55. Accessed April 1, 2010.
- Parkinson's disease. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed April 1, 2010.
- Ahlskog JE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 2, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on