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Questions posted in the
Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Question Title: HEREDITARY OR NOTForum: Neurology Forum
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MY GRANDMOTHER HAD PARKINSONS BEFORE PASSING AWAY, NOW MY MOTHER SUFFERS FROM THE SAME ILLNESS, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT ITS HEREDITARY. WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF LATER IN LIFE SUFFERING THE SAME FATE. MY GRANDMOTHER ALSO WHEN A YOUNG GIRL SUFFERED FROM A PITUITARY TUMOUR, WHICH I HAVE ALSO DISCOVERED IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS AND HAVE HAD TREATMENT FOR. MY MOTHER WAS ONLY DIAGNOSED APPROX. 18 MONTHS AGO, BUT TAKES SEVERAL TABLETS PER DAY TO TRY AND CURB THE TREMORS, HER SPEACH IS NOW BEING AFFECTED, WHEN SHE EATS HER MOUTH DOESN'T RESPOND LIKE IT USED TO. SHE HAS ALSO NOW FOUND THAT HER LEG IS LAZY AND SHE TENDS TO DRAG IT. HOW QUICKLY CAN IT PROGRESS TO THE STAGE WHERE SHE WON'T REALLY BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING FOR HERSELF? HOW SUCCESSFUL HAS THE LAZER SURGERY BEEN FOR THESE TYPES OF CONDITIONS? WHAT'S THE SUCCESS RATE? HOW MANY OF THESE OPERATIONS WOULD BE PERFORMED YEARLY? = In general, Parkinson's disease is not hereditary. There is an Italian family (and I believe now another European family) with well-documented genetic Parkinson's disease, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Some 10% of patients with PD have one affected first degree relative, so there may be a genetic predisposition. Now, if you were to develop PD, then we would count the two other first degree relatives and say that you have a familial form of parkinsonism. But on the data so far, we can't predict that that would happen. One thing to be concerned about. There are many forms of parkinsonism which are not all true Parkinson's disease. You may have seen references to an alphabet soup of PD look-alikes: PSP, DLBD, CBGD, MSA, etc. I wouldn't expect these terms to be meaningful; in fact most doctors are not familiar with them, because these variants are relatively rare. If your mother is not responding in an expected way to parkinson medications, or if the progression of the disease seems just too fast (things usually get worse over the course of several years, not several months), then have this looked into. I don't know about the pituitary tumor. If you like, you may request an appointment with one of our movement disorders specialists. There is an active surgical treatment program here, so we could counsel you on the availability or appropriateness of that approach. Call 800 223-2273, ask for 4-5559 (neurology appointments). I hope this helps. CCF MD mdf.
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