E-Pearl of the Week

July 12, 2011

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July 11, 2011

Supranuclear Gaze Palsy: Think beyond PSP

The presence of vertical gaze palsy in the context of parkinsonism is highly suggestive of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). There are, however, other clinical entities that may present with this clinical sign such as fronto-temporal dementia , corticobasal degeneration, dementia with Lewy Body, Kufor-Rakeb syndrome (PARK-9) and Niemann-Pick type C. Other rarer causes include Gaucher’s disease, Whipple’s disease, syphilis and some clinical presentations of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

References

1. Williams DR, Lees AJ. Progressive supranuclear palsy: clinicopathological concepts and diagnostic challenges. The Lancet Neurology 2009; 8:270-279.

Submitted by:
Dr. Martin Grecco

Disclosure: Dr. Grecco received a scholarship from the UCL Institute of Neurology in London.

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