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Clinical features in bilateral striopallidodentate calcinosis (BSPDC), popularly referred to as Fahr's disease (five autosomal dominant families and eight sporadic cases, n = 38), recruited through a registry, are reported. Applying uniform criteria, cases reported in the literature (n = 61) were combined for detailed analysis. The mean (+/- S.D.) age of Registry patients was 43 +/- 21 and that of literature was 38 +/- 17. In combined data set (n = 99), 67 were symptomatic and 32 were asymptomatic. Of the symptomatic, the incidence among men was higher compared with women (45:22). Movement disorders accounted for 55% of the total symptomatic patients. Of the movement disorders, parkinsonism accounted for 57%, chorea 19%, tremor 8%, dystonia 8%, athetosis 5%, and orofacial dyskinesia 3%. Overlap of signs referable to different areas of central nervous system (CNS) was common. Other neurologic manifestations included: cognitive impairment, cerebellar signs, speech disorder, pyramidal signs, psychiatric features, gait disorders, sensory changes, and pain. We measured the total volume of calcification using an Electronic Planimeter and Coordinate Digitizer. Results suggest a significantly greater amount of calcification in symptomatic patients compared to asymptomatic patients. This study suggests that movement disorders are the most common manifestations of BSPDC, and among movement disorders, parkinsonism outnumber others.

Mutations in the parkin gene occur among individuals with PD with an older age at onset (> or =60 years) who have a positive family history of the disease. In addition, the clinical findings of parkin-positive individuals are remarkably similar to those without mutations.

Botulinum toxin type A injections for essential tremor of the hands resulted in significant improvement of postural, but not kinetic, hand tremors and resulted in limited functional efficacy. Hand weakness is a dose-dependent significant side effect of treatment at the doses used in this study.