Parkinsonism

Parkinsonism (also know n as Parkinson's syndrome, atypical Parkinson's, or secondary Parkinson's) is a neurological syndrome characterized by tremor, hypokinesia, rigidity, and postural instability. The underlying causes of parkinsonism are numerous, and diagnosis can be complex. While the neurodegenerative condition Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common cause of parkinsonism, a wide-range of other etiologies may lead to a similar set of symptoms, including some toxins, a few metabolic diseases, and a handful of non-PD neurological conditions. Its most common cause is as a side effect of medications, mainly neuroleptic antipsychotics especially the phenothiazines (such as perphenazine and chlorpromazine), thioxanthenes (such as flupenthixol and zuclopenthixol) and butyrophenones (such as haloperidol (Haldol)), piperazines (such as ziprasidone), and, rarely, antidepressants.