"Striatonigral degeneration (SND) is sporadic, middle-aged on set degenerative disease of the nervous system which etiology is unknown."1 Those who have SND (Striato Nigral Degeneration) are the easiest to misdiagnose as Parkinson's Disease even though tremor at rest is somewhat uncommon in SND. A study done on autopsy once revealed that 5 out of the 10 studied showed a misdiagnosis. The reason's for this are twofold:
Often present early on with Parkinson's Disease Symptoms
Receive some relief from levodopa and dopamine agonists as well as the other medications to treat PD
Symptoms that help differentiate SND from other parkinsonisms include:
Early onset falls
Severe dysarthria - "Speech that is characteristically slurred, slow, and difficult to produce (difficult to understand). The person with dysarthria may also have problems controlling the pitch, loudness, rhythm, and voice qualities of their speech."2
Severe Dysphonia - "may have occasional difficulty saying a word or two or they may experience sufficient difficulty to interfere with communication"3
Snoring is excessive or sleep apnea is present
Hyperreflexia4 - reflexes rated by the neurologist resulting in a +3 or +4 rating
Extensor plantar responses - that pleasant moment when they scrape the bottom of the foot. It is a test often done on infants. It is characterized by extension of the big toe and separation between the other toes. Click the Term to get detailed information.
Bradykinesia (slowness of movement)
Dystonia (muscle "twisting") - particularly in the neck
Facial masking - expressionless face
As disease progresses one may see OCPA and SDS symptoms work there way in to the scenerio
Pet scans and Spect scans may show little change in dopamine levels. Remember, cell loss is the problem. Changes in the putamen region of the brain are often seen.
Medicines include Sinemet®, Dopamine Agonists, Eldepryl, Symmetrel, pain medications and medications to treat other symptoms that may arise.
Life expectancy is about 7 to 15 years. This is just an average.