How is PSP different from Parkinsons disease?
Both PSP and Parkinson’s disease cause stiffness, slowness, and clumsiness, a combination called parkinsonism.. This is why early on, PSP may be difficult to distinguish from Parkinson’s disease. However, shaking (tremor), while prominent in about two-thirds of people with Parkinson’s disease, occurs in only about one in twenty people with PSP. A more common type of tremor occurring in PSP is irregular, mild and present only when the hand is in use, not at rest as in Parkinson’s disease. Patients with PSP usually stand up straight or occasionally even tilt the head backwards and tend to fall backwards, while those with Parkinson’s usually are bent forwards. The problems with vision, speech and swallowing are much more common and severe in PSP than in Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s causes more difficulty using the hands and more stiffness in the limbs than does PSP. Finally, the medications that are so effective for Parkinson’s disease are of much less benefit in PSP. The mainstay of drugs fo
