Note on the scoliosis of Parkinsonism

A lateral deviation of the spine and a corresponding tendency to lean to one side was found in 19 and 21 consecutive unoperated patients with Parkinsonism encountered in an outpatient clinic. The direction of postural deviation correlated significantly with the laterality of the major signs and symptoms of Parkinsonism. The phenomenon appears to be analogous to the postural asymmetries produced in experimental animals by unilateral lesions of the nigroneostriatal pathways.