Who Gets Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)?
Approximately 20,000 Americans have PSP, making it much less common than Parkinson’s disease, which affects more than 500,000 Americans. Patients are usually middle-aged or elderly, and men are affected more often than women. PSP is often difficult to diagnose because its symptoms can be very much like those of other, more common movement disorders, and because some of the most characteristic symptoms may develop late or not at all. What Are The Symptoms? The most frequent first symptom of PSP is a loss of balance while walking. Patients may have unexplained falls or a stiffness and awkwardness in gait. Sometimes the falls are described by the person experiencing them as attacks of dizziness. This often prompts suspicion of an inner ear problem. Other common early symptoms are changes in personality such as a loss of interest in ordinary pleasurable activities or increased irritability, cantankerousness, and forgetfulness. Patients may suddenly laugh or cry for no apparent reason, they
