| Postencephalitic parkinsonism | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | G21.3 |
| ICD-9 | 310.8 |
| MeSH | D010301 |
Post-encephalitic Parkinsonism is a disease believed to be caused by a viral illness, that triggers degeneration of the nerve cells in the substantia nigra. Overall, this degeneration leads to clinical Parkinsonism and the disease is followed by encephalitis lethargica, a condition also referred as Von Economo's encephalitis. Historically, in 1918, an epidemic of the "sleepy-disease" occurred, related to an influenza pandemic; however, even with the use of modern molecular diagnostic tests on appropriate corpses, no firm link between encephalitis lethargica with influenza has been made.
The brain regions affected contain neurofibrillary tangles, similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease. Nevertheless, the senile plaques common in Alzheimer's disease are not found.
The film Awakenings (starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro) and its respective book based on genuine cases reported by Oliver Sacks deal with sensitive and largely accurate topics relating to this disease. The state of the art in treatment remains roughly the same as it was at the time of the events depicted, the 1960s, although patients with post-encephalitic Parkinsonism lose benefit from their medication far faster than do patients with Parkinson's disease.
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