In this video, Dr. Tipton discusses multiple system atrophy (MSA). This is a neurodegenerative disease that may, at times, be mistaken for other diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. This is because many patients may have a subtype known as MSA-P where the “P” stands for parkinsonism. These patients may experience resting tremor, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), rigidity (muscle stiffness), and postural instability in addition to profound autonomic dysfunction (See Video #X). Other patient’s may have the MSA-C subtype where “C” stands for cerebellar. These patients tend to experience ataxia (incoordination) rather than or more so than parkinsonism; however, they will still have profound autonomic dysfunction.
Reference:
1. Fanciulli A & Wenning GK. Multiple-System Atrophy. New England Journal of Medicine. 2015;372:249-263.