George H. W. Bush and Parkinson's Disease
George H. W. Bush is being buried later today. It's been reported that part of his cause of death was due to Parkinson's Disease. That's not quite true.
There are lots of health issues/other diseases that mirror Parkinson's but are not.
Johnny Cash was originally diagnosed with Parkinson's but the diagnosis was wrong. It turned out that it was diabetes. Daryl Dragon, from the band Captain and Tennille, was also misdiagnosed with Parkinson's. He was later diagnosed as having Essential Tremors....close but not the same thing. Even Muhammad Ali was misdiagnosed with P.D. He actually had Pugilistica Parkinson's. It comes from taking too many blows to head.
The problem of misdiagnosis comes from all these diseases having some of the same symptoms. When you see someone with tremors and/or balance issues, Parkinson's is the first thought. As you can see, that's not always correct. At times, it's something else. Because these diseases tend to occur more frequently in senior citizens, sometimes it's just the aging process that brings out the same symptoms. That's why it's so hard and usually takes a long time to get a true and correct diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.
Bush 41 had something a little different. His disease was called Vascular Parkinsonism. The symptoms are the same as tradition Parkinson's but it occurs differently. The cause is from a series of small strokes that leads to the tremors, balance issues and slow movements you see in Parkinson's patients.
The treatment is also different. Vascular Parkinsonism does not respond to tradition Parkinson's drugs. It's treated in the same manner you would treat a stroke or heart attack. You make lifestyle changes to avoid having more strokes.
For more information about Vascular Parkinsonism, click here.
Related Post: Johnny Cash and the misdiagnosis of Parkinson's
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