Ask the Doctor: Non-Motor Symptoms with Dr. Neal Hermanowicz

Last updated on November 17, 2024.

Presenter: Dr. Neal Hermanowicz, MD, FAAN
Parkinson’s & Movement Disorders Center
Probst Bldg., Suite 311
Eisenhower Medical Center
39000 Bob Hope Dr.
Rancho Mirage, CA

In response to the concerns voiced at the September meeting – primarily by newly diagnosed people with Parkinson’s Disease, we have invited Dr. Neal Hermanowicz who practiced in Santa Fe before relocating to Eisenhower Medical Center, Rancho Mirage, CA, to present a program on Non-motor Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. He will also respond to your questions. 

Parkinson’s disease is regarded as a movement disorder and presently the diagnosis remains based on the core motor findings of tremor, rigidity, slowness and impaired balance. However,since the time of the 1817 publication by the London physician James Parkinson it has been known that other symptoms, non-motor symptoms, can be associated with PD. Parkinson described constipation, urine incontinence, drooling and sleep disturbance in the six patients he reported. Several non-motor symptoms associated with PD have subsequently been described in a broad variety, including altered sense of smell, excessive sweating, skin rash, vision problems, pain, cognitive changes, hallucinations and delusions. This complexity of symptoms can place a heavy burden upon patients and care partners and present a difficult challenge to physicians and other health care providers. The early appearance of some non-motor symptoms may provide an opportunity for earlier diagnosis and in turn intervention.

Come with your questions for Dr. Hermanowicz!