Parkinson's disease misdiagnosed as stroke

BMJ Case Rep. 2009:2009:bcr07.2008.0558. doi: 10.1136/bcr.07.2008.0558. Epub 2009 Feb 2.

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease, the clinical features of which are usually asymmetrical at presentation. This can lead to difficulty in differentiating it from other asymmetric neurological disorders. We present two cases where idiopathic PD was initially misdiagnosed as stroke, leading to a delay in appropriate symptomatic therapy. Physicians involved in diagnosis and treatment of people with strokes should consider PD when formulating their differential diagnosis.