Whenever it comes to diagnosing Parkinsons disease, the clinical exam, as well as history, are perhaps the most important aspects in making a correct diagnosis. While at the surface, parkinsonism may appear similar in idiopathic Parkinsons disease as well as some of the atypical syndromes such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy (MSA), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), in reality, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Often an extension of the physical exam, imaging studies have shown to be very useful when attempting to diagnose these movement disorders. In recent years, technology has advanced greatly providing several modalities of imaging to assist in the diagnosis of movement disorders including CT, MRI, PET scans, and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans among others.
