Our experts at the Chase Family Movement Disorders Center will listen to your observations about the changes in your body and how they have affected your life.
After an extensive physical and neurological examination, we’ll recommend additional diagnostic testing as needed. With an accurate diagnosis, the most appropriate management and treatment of the condition can then be explored and implemented.
Available Tests
- DaTscan SPECT is an imaging technology that assesses the brain’s dopamine containing neurons, which are involved in controlling movement. This can be used to detect Parkinson’s disease in the early stages. It can also tell the difference between Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor as well as the difference between the disease and drug-induced or psychogenic Parkinsonism, a clinical syndrome that can cause Parkinson’s-like symptoms.
- Syn-One Test is a skin biopsy that can be performed when there is uncertainty about making the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. It is a highly accurate test that is done by your Movement Disorders neurologist in an outpatient office setting. It looks for the presence of abnormal alpha-synuclein protein in the skin that is a marker of Parkinson’s disease.
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an imaging technology that looks for abnormalities in the brain or spinal cord that may be the cause of a gait disorder or involuntary movements.
- Polysomnography or sleep studies are useful in diagnosing sleep apnea and are also diagnostic tools for Periodic Limb Movements and other sleep disorders common in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.
- Electroencephalography (EEG) records brain-wave activity to differentiate seizures or epilepsy from paroxysmal movement disorders and episodic facial spasms or dyskinesias.
- Electromyography and nerve conduction studies measure the electrical activity of nerves and muscles at rest and during contraction detecting the location, and extent, of diseases that damage nerves and muscles.
- Blood work and laboratory analyses evaluate for secondary causes of various movement disorders, such as metabolic disorders, autoimmune processes, infections, inflammatory disorders, nutritional deficiencies, paraneoplastic disorders or demyelinating diseases.
- Lumbar puncture and cerebrospinal fluid analysis is used in the diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus.
- Genetic testing establishes a genetic component to a person’s condition with or without a family history of chorea, Parkinsonism, ataxia, dystonia or myoclonus.
- Neuropsychological evaluation is comprehensive cognitive testing that identifies cognitive impairment related to dementia or other neuropsychiatric disorders, including mood disorders, and also attention deficit disorder and obsessive-compulsive traits.