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Mini-Review: Multiple developmental forms of parkinsonism. The basis for further research as to the pathogenesis of parkinsonism

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A range of extrapyramidal disturbances have been reported in children following early brain damage. In adults, damage to the basal ganglia can elicit abnormal motor activity in either direction; it would seem reasonable that the same would apply to damage occurring at an earlier developmental stage. The Viennese paediatrician Widhalm described a hypokinetic/parkinsonoid syndrome (‘infantile hypokinetic-hypertonic syndrome with Parkinson symptomatic’) presented by a significant minority of the children with extrapyramidal movement disturbances, corresponding to the mild rigid-akinetic type of Parkinson's disease. In contrast to classical parkinsonism, but consistent with some forms of post-encephalitic parkinsonism, the syndrome was reversible, although only after l-DOPA therapy. Widhalm's observation that at least one form of childhood parkinsonism can be cured with l-DOPA also suggests that the amino acid plays a more active role than mere replacement therapy in children, perhaps also acting as a neurotrophic agent. It is proposed that environmental factors, including viral and risk factors associated with pregnancy and birth, together with genetically determined lability, may increase the incidence of early hypokinesia/parkinsonism in particular and of Parkinson's disease in later life by disturbing the immature basal ganglia at critical developmental stages. The spectrum disorder of Parkinson's disease thereby occurs as a number of various etiopathologically distinct syndrome subtypes, including early onset developmental forms caused by in utero or early post partum trauma.

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Received September, 2002; accepted October 31, 2002

Authors' address: Prof. Dr. P. Riederer, Clinical Neurochemistry, Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstrasse 15, D-97080 Würzburg, Federal Republic of Germany, e-mail: peter.riederer@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de

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Riederer, P., Foley, P. Mini-Review: Multiple developmental forms of parkinsonism. The basis for further research as to the pathogenesis of parkinsonism. J Neural Transm 109, 1469–1475 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s007020200095

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s007020200095

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