Idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a review of clinical types and pathology

Parkinsonism occurs in a variety of disorders, involving the central nervous system. The basic pathology in this disorder is the destruction of the pigmented neuronal pathway of the brain stem. The major site of damage is the nigrostriatal pathway. There is associated cytoplasmic neuronal changes, the most specific is the formation of an intracytoplasmic inclusion body, the Lewy body. This varies from other forms of neurofibrillary degeneration. Other neuropathological changes which may be age related are also found. This paper is an overview of the idiopathic Parkinson's disease.