The accuracy of diagnosis of parkinsonian
syndromes in a specialist movement disorder
serviceAndrew J. Hughes,1,3 Susan E. Daniel,1 Yoav Ben-Shlomo2 and Andrew J. Lees1
1The United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Society Brain
Correspondence to: Professor Andrew J. Lees MD, FRCP,
Research Centre, Institute of Neurology, London,
Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies,
2Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol,
Windeyer Building, 46 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JF,
Bristol, UK and 3Neurology Department, Austin and
Repatriation Medical Centre, Melbourne, Australia
We have reviewed the clinical and pathological diagno-
diagnosis of multiple system atrophy (MSA) and pro-
ses of 143 cases of parkinsonism seen by neurologists
gressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) were 85.7 (30 out of
associated with the movement disorders service at The
35) and 80% (16 out of 20), respectively. The sensitivity
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in
for IPD was 91.1%, due to seven false-negative cases,
London who came to neuropathological examination at
with 72 of the 79 pathologically established cases being
the United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Society Brain
diagnosed in life. For MSA, the sensitivity was 88.2%
Research Centre, over a 10-year period between 1990
(30 out of 34), and for PSP it was 84.2% (16 out of 19).
and the end of 1999. Seventy-three (47 male, 26 female)
The diagnostic accuracy for IPD, MSA and PSP was
cases were diagnosed as having idiopathic Parkinson's
higher than most previous prospective clinicopathologi-
disease (IPD) and 70 (42 male, 28 female) as having
cal series and studies using the retrospective application
another parkinsonian syndrome. The positive predictive
of clinical diagnostic criteria. The seven false-negative
value of the clinical diagnosis for the whole group was
cases of IPD suggest a broader clinical picture of dis-
85.3%, with 122 cases correctly clinically diagnosed.
ease than previously thought acceptable. This study
The positive predictive value of the clinical diagnosis of
implies that neurologists with particular expertise in the
IPD was extremely high, at 98.6% (72 out of 73), while
®eld of movement disorders may be using a method of
for the other parkinsonian syndromes it was 71.4% (50
pattern recognition for diagnosis which goes beyond
out of 70). The positive predictive values of a clinical
that inherent in any formal set of diagnostic criteria.
Keywords: Parkinson's disease; parkinsonism; clinicopathological study; diagnostic accuracy
Abbreviations: CBD = corticobasal degeneration; DLB = dementia with Lewy bodies; IPD = idiopathic Parkinson's
disease; MSA = multiple system atrophy; NHNN = The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London;
PEP = post-encephalitic parkinsonism; PSP = progressive supranuclear palsy; UKPDSBRC = The United Kingdom
Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Research Centre
Remarkably few detailed clinicopathological studies of
originating from seven centres in four countries (Litvan et al.,
patients with parkinsonian disorders have been published
(Hughes et al., 1993; Wenning et al., 1995; Litvan et al.,
Two clinicopathological studies published in the early
1996a) which has made assessment of the accuracy of clinical
1990s both found an accuracy of clinical diagnosis of IPD of
diagnosis dif®cult. The largest clinicopathological series of
76% (Rajput et al., 1991; Hughes et al., 1992). A recent study
patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive
in the UK, using ascertainment and methodology comparable
supranuclear palsy (PSP), the two disorders most likely to
with one of the earlier studies, has shown an improvement in
mimic idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD), include only 38
this diagnostic accuracy to 90% (Hughes et al., 2001). This
and 24 cases, respectively, with the latter comprising cases
improvement coincides with increased awareness amongst
neurologists of the pitfalls in the differential diagnosis of
cases from the UKPDSBRC (Hughes et al., 1993, 2001;
parkinsonian syndromes and the publication of consensus
Wenning et al., 1994, 1995, 2000; Daniel et al., 1995; Litvan
operational criteria for the diagnosis of IPD, MSA, PSP and
et al., 1996c, 1997a, b, 1998). The clinical features of the 143
corticobasal degeneration (CBD) (Gibb and Lees, 1988;
cases identi®ed were abstracted by one neurologist (A.J.H.),
Litvan et al., 1996b; Gilman et al., 1999; Riley and Lang,
unblinded to the pathological diagnosis, from clinical records
2000). However, there is little information available about the
which included hospital, consultant and general practice case
accuracy of diagnosis of other parkinsonian syndromes and
notes as well as UKPDSBRC annual assessment data.
whether specialists in movement disorders are superior to
Clinical features were entered on a database for subsequent
general neurologists. Two clinicopathological studies have
analysis. In addition to standard clinical parameters, particu-
suggested that approximately one-third of patients with
lar attention was paid to the initial clinical diagnosis, the
pathologically proven MSA seen by specialists in movement
timing of that diagnosis in relation to the initial onset of
disorders carry the incorrect diagnosis at death (Wenning
symptoms, the time of any change to the clinical diagnosis
et al., 1995; Litvan et al., 1997a). This ®gure may be as high
and the time prior to death of the last clinical assessment.
as 50% in patients diagnosed by general neurologists (Litvan
Where more than one possible clinical diagnosis was listed in
et al., 1997a). In PSP, available clinicopathological correla-
the clinical ®les, an attempt was made to ascertain the clinical
tive data would suggest that between 41 and 88% of patients
diagnosis thought most likely. Only in cases where this was
with pathologically proven PSP are diagnosed correctly in
unclear, or where a de®nite `unclassi®able' label had been
life (Daniel et al., 1995; Litvan et al., 1996a; Verny et al.,
used was a ®nal clinical diagnosis of `parkinsonism
undetermined' recorded. For analysis of diagnostic accuracy,
To assess further the accuracy of diagnosis of parkinsonian
cases with a ®nal diagnosis of parkinsonism undetermined
disorders, we have reviewed the clinical and pathological
were classi®ed as having a parkinsonian syndrome other than
diagnoses of patients seen by neurologists associated with the
IPD and were considered to have an incorrect clinical
movement disorders service at The National Hospital for
Neurology and Neurosurgery in London (NHNN) who came
The clinical diagnostic label of dementia with Lewy bodies
to neuropathological examination at the United Kingdom
(DLB) was problematic because of the evolution in the
Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Research Centre
clinical understanding of this entity and its clinicopathologi-
cal de®nition over the time of the study (McKeith et al., 1996,
1999). The classi®cation of patients as having DLB at autopsy
was also complicated by occasional cases with moderate
numbers of cortical Lewy bodies who either had no cognitive
We identi®ed 143 cases of parkinsonism seen by neurologists
impairment in life or who ®rst developed cognitive dysfunc-
associated with the movement disorders service at the NHNN
tion after a disease course of 10 years or more. As such, cases
who came to neuropathological assessment at the
clinically felt to have IPD and coexistent dementia at the time
UKPDSBRC from the beginning of 1990 until the end of
of death were classi®ed as having a clinical diagnosis of IPD,
and all cases satisfying the neuropathological criteria for IPD
with or without cortical Lewy body deposition were classi®ed
The cases were identi®ed from all cases referred to the
UKPDSBRC over the 10-year period, by review of all case
records and clinical summaries, completed at the time of
Half-brains ®xed in 10% neutral formalin were examined
neuropathological assessment, and by a search of the clinical
using standard neuropathological techniques. Tissue for
database for the names of the treating consultant neurologists
paraf®n embedding was taken from the cerebral cortex,
and for any record of attendance at the NHNN. The accrual
striatum, mid-brain, pons, medulla and cerebellum. In the
rate of 14±15 brains per year represents ~8% of patients with
majority of cases, all areas of cortex (frontal, temporal,
parkinsonism admitted to the hospital each year and <5% of
parietal and occipital) were examined. Sections were stained
such patients attending the out-patient clinics each year. In
with haematoxylin±eosin, luxol fast blue±cresyl violet and
the main, patients coming to autopsy at the UKPDSBRC
modi®ed Bielschowsky silver impregnation. On selected
enrolled in the programme after contact with promotional
regions, immunocytochemistry was performed using the
literature circulated through the Parkinson's Disease Society.
biotin±streptavidin method and antibody to ubiquitin (Dako,
They then approached either their neurologist, the
polyclonal 1 : 150), a-synuclein (gift from Professor B.
UKPDSBRC directly or their GP regarding registering as a
Anderton, 1 : 500), tau (Dako, polyclonal 1 : 150) and GFAP
prospective donor. A small number of cases of particular
(glial ®brillary acidic protein; Dako, polyclonal 1 : 400).
interest were approached in the latter stages of their disease
The pathological diagnoses were made using established
while attending the NHNN. Some cases in the present series
criteria by one neuropathologist (S.E.D.). The diagnosis of
have been included in previous publications that included
IPD was based on ®nding a clear depletion of brainstem
pigmented neurones with Lewy bodies in some of the
sonism (Schrag et al., 1999) to a hypothetical sample of 1000
remaining nerve cells and a normal appearance in the
cases. This scenario examines predictive performance in an
striatum (Oppenheimer, 1984). In cases lacking pathological
ideal world where specialists diagnose all parkinsonian cases
changes in IPD, diagnoses were established by accepted
in the community. Thirdly, using the same population-based
neuropathological criteria. PSP was diagnosed according to
prevalence data, we contrived a more realistic scenario where
NINDS criteria (Hauw et al., 1994). Cases of MSA were
we assumed that all new non-IPD cases, being atypical and
subdivided into those showing predominantly striatonigral
diagnostically more complex, would be referred to an expert
involvement, predominant olivopontocerebellar damage or
in movement disorders as well as a minority (20%) of new
equal involvement of both systems (Quinn, 1994). Cases of
IPD for diagnostic con®rmation. This latter ®gure is hypo-
vascular parkinsonism were diagnosed when there was
thetical, based partially on the experience of NHNN, but is
evidence of white matter ischaemic damage in conjunction
used mainly for illustrative purposes enabling a sensitivity
with ischaemic infarcts within the striatum in the absence of
any de®nable pathology known to be responsible for
parkinsonism. Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) was diag-
nosed according to Revesz and Daniel (1998). A single case
of post-encephalitic parkinsonism (PEP) was distinguished
by very severe nigral damage with widespread brainstem
tangles in a patient with disease onset following an
A total of 143 cases (89 male, 54 female) were identi®ed. The
encephalitic-like illness when aged 10 years in 1928 and
clinical diagnoses were made by 11 neurologists, with ®ve
who died aged 81 years. In four cases, other pathological
dedicated movement disorder specialists seeing 92% (132).
diagnoses were made according to the neuropathological
The mean age of disease onset was 55.5 (range 5±80) years
features (Geddes et al., 1993; Jackson and Lowe, 1996;
and the mean disease duration was 13 (range 2±71) years (see
Morris et al., 1999; O'Sullivan et al., 2000).
Table 1). The mean time from symptom onset to initial
clinical diagnosis was 1.6 (range 0±7) years. The clinical
diagnosis was later revised in 44 of the 122 cases where full
follow-up information was available, after a mean of 3.4
(range 0.5±12) years. The mean duration of disease to ®nal
clinical diagnosis in these 44 cases was 5.3 (range 1.5±19)
We compared selected clinical features for cases diagnosed as
years. The mean time of the last clinical assessment by the
IPD or another parkinsonian syndrome using the t-test and c2
treating neurologist prior to death was 2.4 years, with 54% of
test for continuous and categorical variables. By cross-
patients being seen within the last year of life.
tabulating the clinical and neuropathological diagnoses, the
Seventy-three (47 male, 26 female) patients had a ®nal
four standard diagnostic parameters were calculated: (i)
clinical diagnosis of IPD and 70 (42 male, 28 female) patients
sensitivity: the percentage of cases with a particular patho-
were diagnosed as having another parkinsonian syndrome
logical diagnosis that had been clinically diagnosed correctly
(see Table 1). IPD cases were more likely to be older at
as having that diagnosis prior to death; (ii) speci®city: the
diagnosis, and had a longer disease duration. There was no
percentage of cases without a particular pathological diag-
difference between time from onset of symptoms to initial
nosis that had been clinically diagnosed correctly as not
clinical diagnosis, but as almost two-thirds of those with a
having that diagnosis prior to death; (iii) positive predictive
®nal clinical diagnosis of another parkinsonian syndrome had
value: the percentage of cases which the clinicians had
their diagnosis changed, they had longer disease duration at
diagnosed correctly with a particular diagnosis which was
the time of their ®nal clinical diagnosis. The clinical
con®rmed at post-mortem; and (iv) negative predictive value:
diagnosis had been revised to IPD in only two cases after 3
the percentage of cases which the clinicians correctly thought
did not have a particular diagnosis, that was con®rmed to be
The clinical diagnoses in the 70 cases thought to have a
correct at post-mortem. As positive and negative predictive
parkinsonian syndrome other than IPD (see Table 2) were:
values are a function of the prevalence of disease in the
MSA (35), PSP (20), CBD (three), vascular parkinsonism
population, they will vary for different populations even
(three), parkinsonism undetermined (four), PEP (two) and
when sensitivity and speci®city remain constant, the latter
one case each of pallidopyramidal degeneration (not further
two being a function of the diagnostic test or, in this case, the
classi®ed), dopa-responsive juvenile parkinsonism and focal
clinicians' diagnostic acumen. We therefore calculated the
cerebral atrophy with myoclonus (not further classi®ed).
positive and negative predictive values for IPD, MSA and
PSP under three scenarios. First, what was observed from the
UKPDSBRC sample under study. Secondly, given the
unusual nature of this sample and the over-representation of
The ®nal neuropathological diagnoses in the 143 cases (see
other parkinsonian disorders, we applied prevalence data
Tables 2 and 3) were IPD (79), MSA (34), PSP (19), CBD
from a recent population-based prevalence study of parkin-
(four), vascular parkinsonism (two) and one case each of
Table 1 Simple clinical parameters of 143 cases of parkinsonism divided according to clinical diagnostic groupings
Hoehn and Yahr stage at initial diagnosis
Cases where clinical diagnosis was revised²
²Information available on 122 cases regarding the timing of both initial and ®nal clinical diagnoses; *P < 0.05, for comparison of cases
with a ®nal clinical diagnosis of IPD and another parkinsonian syndrome.
PEP, frontotemporal dementia (without distinctive histol-
Of the four cases with pathological CBD, only one was
ogy), tauopathy (not otherwise speci®ed), neuronal intra-
clinically diagnosed as CBD. One was clinically diagnosed as
having vascular parkinsonism, one PSP and one clinically
labelled as having focal cerebral atrophy with myoclonus (not
further classi®ed). Both cases of pathologically established
vascular parkinsonism and the one case of PEP had been
Only one case diagnosed clinically as IPD was not con®rmed
pathologically (see Tables 2 and 3). However, seven cases of
Diagnostic parameters for the main clinical
pathologically proven IPD had been misdiagnosed as either
MSA (four), CBD (one), PEP (one) and `parkinsonism
undetermined' (one). The clinical diagnosis of MSA was also
Overall, 122 out of 143 cases were clinically diagnosed
good, but cases of both IPD (four) and PSP (one) were
correctly, giving an overall positive predictive value of 85.3%
wrongly included. Similarly, four cases of pathologically
(see Table 4). Other than vascular parkinsonism, which was
con®rmed MSA had been misdiagnosed as PSP (two) and
based on two cases, the clinical diagnosis of IPD showed the
`parkinsonism undetermined' (two). Other misdiagnoses for
best overall sensitivity (91.1%) and positive predictive value
PSP included CBD (one) and one case found to have a
(98.6%), followed by MSA and then PSP. The ®gures for
tauopathy (not otherwise speci®ed).
CBD and vascular parkinsonism are based on very small
Of the three cases clinically diagnosed as CBD, only one
numbers. The speci®city for all the major diagnoses was
had the pathological changes of CBD, while one had IPD and
extremely high (between 95.4 and 98.4%) with little differ-
one had frontotemporal dementia (without distinctive histol-
ence for any of the groups, indicating that these neurologists
ogy). Two of the three cases clinically diagnosed as having
were extremely good at correctly ruling out these speci®c
vascular parkinsonism had this diagnosis at post-mortem,
while the other had CBD. Only one of the two cases
diagnosed as PEP ful®lled the neuropathological criteria,
whilst the other was pathologically con®rmed as IPD. One
Predictive values for clinical diagnoses under
case clinically diagnosed as pallidopyramidal degeneration
(not otherwise classi®ed) had a chronic brainstem meningo-
Table 5 demonstrates how the positive and negative predict-
encephalitis (reported in detail elsewhere; Geddes et al.,
ive values for each of the main three diagnoses vary as the
1993). The case clinically classi®ed as dopa-responsive
prevalence of the speci®c diagnosis alters. The most dramatic
juvenile parkinsonism had neuronal intranuclear inclusion
effect is seen for IPD, which had a negative predictive value
disease at post-mortem (also reported in detail elsewhere;
of 90% in the UKPDSBRC sample. When applied to a normal
O'Sullivan et al., 2000) and the case classi®ed as having focal
population sample, where IPD is a priori likely to be the most
cerebral atrophy with myoclonus had CBD. Of the four cases
likely diagnosis, this propensity to overdiagnose less common
with the ®nal diagnostic label of `parkinsonism undeter-
causes of parkinsonism amongst pathologically proven IPD
mined', two had MSA, one PSP and one IPD.
has an important detrimental effect on the negative predictive
Table 2 Pathological diagnoses in 143 cases of parkinsonism divided according to the
Chronic brainstem meningoencephalitis* (1)
Dopa-responsive juvenile parkinsonism (1)
Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease* (1)
Focal cerebral atrophy with myoclonus (1)
*Cases described in detail elsewhere (Geddes et al., 1993; O'Sullivan et al., 2000).
value. In absolute terms, however, this would still only result
patients with parkinsonism attending the movement disorders
in 81 false-negative diagnoses in every 1000 cases. The
clinics or admitted to the NHNN over the last 5 years had a
relatively good positive predictive values for both MSA and
clinical diagnosis of a parkinsonian syndrome other than IPD.
PSP are markedly attenuated in the community sample, where
However, comparison of diagnostic subgroups, for example
these disorders are far less common. The clinical predictive
IPD, with clinic-based descriptive studies (Hoehn and Yahr,
value in Table 5, scenario 3, designed to re¯ect a specialist
1967) shows a similar pro®le of initial symptomatology and
movement disorder clinic, is much more like that observed
clinical course, suggesting that despite the biases, the
subgroups may be reasonably representative of those seen in
movement disorders clinics. The predictive value of these
clinical diagnoses was, as expected, highly sensitive to the
prevalence of disease and hence the context within which
The present study has considerable advantages over most
patients are seen. In a community setting, the positive
previously published clinicopathological series. These in-
predictive values for the less common diseases were far
clude the detail of clinical documentation and ancillary
worse, whilst for IPD there was a deterioration in the negative
investigation, the consistency of neuropathological evaluation
predictive value. It is likely that a specialist seeing patients in
and the independence and impartiality of data acquisition. The
an outreach clinic based in primary care would quickly adjust
NHNN is a tertiary referral centre, and diagnostic conun-
to the different patient patterns and may subsequently alter
drums, atypical presentations and unusual cases are seen more
their threshold for diagnosing rarer causes of parkinsonism.
frequently than in general hospitals or even regional neuro-
Primary care patients are also seen much earlier in the natural
logical centres. This leads to a disproportionate bias in the
history of the disease and hence cases of MSA and PSP may
frequency of atypical parkinsonian syndromes in the clinics.
not have such well developed atypical features to facilitate
Furthermore, patients who are undiagnosed or more severely
affected and die in hospitals or nursing homes are more likely
We found a gratifyingly high accuracy for the diagnosis of
to have an autopsy. That almost 50% of the cases included in
IPD amongst movement disorder specialists. At 98.6%, the
this study were clinically thought to have a cause for
positive predictive value for a diagnosis of IPD is certainly
parkinsonism other than IPD suggests that the cohort is not
higher than previously published data. The only other single
representative of patients seen in clinics with a particular
centre clinicopathological study of parkinsonism was pub-
interest in movement disorders. Approximately one in four
lished a decade ago and found an accuracy for clinical
Table 3 Clinical diagnoses in 143 cases of parkinsonism divided according to the
pathological diagnosisPathological diagnosis
Focal cerebral atrophy with myoclonus (1)
Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (1)
Dopa-responsive juvenile parkinsonism (1)
Chronic brainstem meningoencephalitis (1)
Pallidopyramidal degenerationÐnot otherwise
Frontotemporal dementiaÐwithout distinctive
diagnosis of IPD of only 76% (Rajput et al., 1991). A year
(9%) suggest a broader clinical picture of disease than
later, a clinicopathological series from the UKPDSBRC
formerly recognized. Alternatively, there may have been a
found an identical diagnostic accuracy in cases collected from
tendency amongst the clinicians to place too much import-
all over the UK (Hughes et al., 1992). In a subsequent interim
ance on subtle atypical clinical features for IPD and
series, the diagnostic accuracy had increased to 84%
overdiagnose less common parkinsonian syndromes. This is
(Ansorge et al., 1997), while in a more recent study it
perhaps not unreasonable when they work in a hospital setting
reached 90% (Hughes et al., 2001). Although the majority of
where the probability of such disorders is relatively high.
diagnoses in this most recent series were made by neurolo-
While the false-positive rate for the diagnosis of IPD has
gists, 14% of cases were diagnosed by general physicians or
fallen over the last decade, there is less information regarding
geriatricians (Hughes et al., 2001). That study also evaluated
false-negative cases. One clinicopathological series found
several sets of diagnostic criteria which were unable to
that 10% of cases with pathologically proven IPD died with
improve this diagnostic accuracy signi®cantly. Although this
an alternative clinical diagnosis (Hughes et al., 1993). The
®nding suggested that a clinical diagnostic accuracy of 90%
retrospective application of accepted clinical diagnostic
may approximate the maximum that can be expected, our
criteria to that series suggested that 12% had clinical features
®ndings suggest that specialists in movement disorders may
atypical for the accepted clinical spectrum of IPD. These
exceed this. However, in the clinicopathological study of
included early severe dementia, no apparent response to an
Litvan et al. (1998), experts in movement disorders correctly
adequate trial of levodopa, early ¯uctuating confusional
diagnosed only 77.4% of cases of Lewy body disease
states, myoclonus, apraxia, onset of parkinsonism while
(including both IPD and DLB) when retrospectively review-
taking neuroleptic medication, presence of focal dystonia,
ing clinical vignettes of cases compiled from information
early marked autonomic dysfunction, onset following sig-
gathered at the last clinical assessment prior to death. In that
ni®cant head trauma and a stuttering course suggestive of
study, the lack of direct patient contact and the proportion of
vascular events. Half of those cases had a pathological
cases included with parkinsonian syndromes other than IPD
process in addition to IPD that may have explained the
may have adversely affected the diagnostic accuracy. The
atypical clinical appearance: signi®cant plaque and neuro-
diagnostic accuracy by the primary treating neurologists for
®brillary tangle deposition, dense cortical Lewy bodies and
striatal infarction. This still left 6% of pathologically proven
Although we found the sensitivity for a clinical diagnosis
IPD cases without additional contaminating pathology with
of IPD to be high at 91.1%, the seven false-negative cases
clinical features outside the prevailing perceptions for the
Table 4 Summary of the diagnostic accuracy for the major parkinsonian syndromes in 143
cases of parkinsonism that came to neuropathological examination over a 10-year periodDiagnosis
See text for de®nitions of positive predictive value, sensitivity and speci®city. Limited conclusions can be
drawn from the small number of cases with CBD and vascular parkinsonism. *For the purpose of
analysis, a ®nal clinical diagnosis of parkinsonism undetermined was considered an incorrect diagnosis.
months prior to the onset of symptoms. Otherwise this case
Table 5 Positive and negative predictive values of a
had long duration disease with a clinical course typical for
diagnosis of IPD, MSA and PSP under various scenarios
IPD. This leaves ®ve cases (6%) with pathologically proven
brainstem Lewy body IPD having clinical features outside the
commonly accepted clinical spectrum. The atypical features
seen in these cases include poor levodopa response (four),
early autonomic impairment (four), early falls (four), dis-
proportionate antecollis (four), denervation on sphincter
EMG (one) and prolonged isolated gait freezing before the
development of parkinsonism and dementia (one).
The problems associated with the diagnostic label of DLB
in this series have already been described. Probably because
of referral bias towards patients with a dominant parkinsonian
motor syndrome in this movement disorder service, this
situation was not common. There were only two cases where
1 = Sample in the present study, diagnosed by neurologists
early cognitive decline (occurring within 12 months of the
associated with the movement disorders service at the NHNN and
onset of parkinsonism) in patients already diagnosed as
coming to autopsy at the UKPDSBRC over a 10-year period.
having IPD, was clinically felt to be due to DLB and who
2 = Prevalence of conditions in the population sample, assuming
movement disorder specialists diagnose all parkinsonian cases in
subsequently satis®ed the pathological criteria for this entity
(McKeith et al., 1996, 1999). There were a further 12 cases
3 = Assuming all atypical cases of parkinsonism and 20% of IPD
with moderate numbers of cortical Lewy bodies who either
cases referred to specialist neurologists associated with a
had no cognitive impairment in life or who ®rst developed
movement disorder service. PPV = positive predictive value;
cognitive dysfunction after a disease course of 10 years or
more. Those cases with dementia had a clinical diagnosis of
IPD with dementia. As with previous series (Hughes et al.,
1992), small numbers of cortical Lewy bodies were identi®ed
syndrome of IPD. An even higher false-negative rate was
in the vast majority of cases of pathologically con®rmed IPD.
seen in another clinicopathological study (Litvan et al., 1998)
Over the last decade, a number of clinical and clinico-
where the sensitivity for the diagnosis of Lewy body disease
pathological series have clari®ed the clinical features of MSA
(including both IPD and DLB) and for IPD alone was 67.2
and PSP, the two conditions most commonly misdiagnosed as
and 80%, respectively. Of the seven false-negative cases in
IPD (de Bruin and Lees, 1994; Litvan et al., 1996a; Wenning
the present series, no alternative neuropathological cause for
et al., 1997, 2000). Increased awareness of these features and
the atypical clinical features could be found in six. The
their clinical overlap with IPD is likely to be responsible for
seventh case had dense cortical Lewy body deposition but a
the improvement in the diagnostic accuracy of IPD and has
clinical history somewhat atypical for DLB, with parkinson-
led to a re®nement of the clinical diagnostic criteria for both
ism preceding the onset of cognitive impairment by 10 years
MSA and PSP (Litvan et al., 1996b; Gilman et al., 1999).
with associated autonomic impairment, corticospinal tract
Nevertheless, the accuracy of clinical diagnosis of the other
dysfunction, supranuclear gaze palsy and myoclonus. One of
common neurodegenerative parkinsonian syndromes was less
the remaining six cases was diagnosed clinically as probably
than with IPD. However, the positive predictive value and
having PEP, because of a history of an encephalitic illness 6
sensitivity for a diagnosis of both MSA and PSP in the present
study were higher than most previous prospective clinico-
seen in some earlier studies and is re¯ected in the number of
pathological series and studies using the retrospective
different sets of diagnostic criteria which have been proposed
application of clinical diagnostic criteria (Litvan et al.,
(Litvan et al., 1996c). In the present study, the sensitivity for
1996a, c, 1997a; Wenning et al., 2000).
the diagnosis of PSP was 84.2%. The most recently proposed
The situation with MSA is made dif®cult by the 10±20% of
clinical diagnostic criteria for PSP have been validated
cases who have relatively pure parkinsonism which may be
retrospectively in a data set of cases with pathologically
characterized by features previously thought to be more
established parkinsonian syndromes (Litvan et al, 1996b).
typical of IPD, including asymmetry, levodopa responsive-
They appear relatively restrictive, with sensitivities of 83 and
ness and the development of levodopa-induced dyskinesias
50% for a diagnosis of possible and probable PSP, respect-
and motor ¯uctuations (Wenning et al., 1994, 1997, 2000).
ively, although they await further validation.
Two studies comparing the clinical features of pathologically
Although the number of cases with CBD was very small in
proven MSA and IPD (Litvan et al., 1997a; Wenning et al.,
the present study, it is of note that both the positive predictive
2000) have pointed to preserved cognition and the absence of
value and sensitivity were poor. Only one of the three cases
neuropsychiatric toxicity as previously unrecognized features
clinically diagnosed was con®rmed pathologically, and only
more suggestive of MSA than IPD. We have found that
one of the four cases found at post-mortem was clinically
neurologists specializing in movement disorders were correct
diagnosed in life. The clinical and pathological heterogeneity
in 85.7% of cases clinically diagnosed with MSA, equating to
of CBD is now well recognized (Rinne et al., 1994; Wenning
a false-positive rate of 14.3%. The false-positive rate in MSA
et al., 1998; Kertesz et al., 2000). A proportion of cases with
has received relatively little attention to date, although in one
CBD may not be seen by movement disorder specialists at all,
cohort retrospectively analysed by movement disorder spe-
coming under the care of psychiatrists, dementia specialists or
cialists it approximated 20% (Litvan et al., 1997a).
psycho-geriatricians. Previous larger series have varied
In the present study, we found the sensitivity for a
considerably in the accuracy of clinical diagnosis of CBD,
diagnosis of MSA to be 88.2%, with 30 of the 34 cases of
with between 53 and 94% of clinically diagnosed cases
pathologically proven MSA being diagnosed correctly. In one
having the disease at post-mortem and ~50% of pathologic-
of the largest clinicopathological studies of MSA (Wenning
ally established cases being diagnosed correctly in life
et al., 1995), a third of 35 pathologically proven cases carried
(Litvan et al., 1997b; Wenning et al., 1998; Boeve et al.,
another clinical diagnosis, usually IPD, at the time of death.
Subanalysis of those cases suggested that the diagnostic
More than 60% of cases with the ®nal clinical diagnosis of
accuracy was far higher amongst cases seen by neurologists
a parkinsonian syndrome other than IPD had their diagnosis
specializing in movement disorders (seven of the patients in
changed during the course of their illness. Of these, 60% were
that series were also included in the present series). Similarly,
changed from an initial clinical diagnosis of IPD. This is
in another series (Litvan et al., 1997a), only 50% of cases
similar to previous clinicopathological studies where clinical
with pathologically proven MSA had been diagnosed
information is available regarding the temporal dynamics of
correctly by their primary neurologist, while retrospective
changes in the clinical diagnosis between the ®rst and last
analysis by neurologists specializing in movement disorders
clinical assessments (Litvan et al., 1996a, 1997a; Wenning
improved this sensitivity to ~70%. Several studies have
et al., 1998). Revision of the clinical diagnosis occurred after
compared the clinical features of pathologically proven MSA
a mean of 5.4 years of disease, but in several cases it occurred
with IPD and developed scoring systems weighted for
well into the second decade of ill-health.
different clinical features (Colosimo et al., 1995; Wenning
The present study has shown a high degree of diagnostic
et al., 2000). These have produced sensitivities of ~90%. The
accuracy for IPD, MSA and PSP amongst neurologists
application of these scoring systems in new independent
specializing in movement disorders. Many previous series
clinical series is likely to be less impressive as they are
assessing diagnostic accuracy have used retrospective
internally derived and therefore overestimate their true
methods relying on abstracted clinical information developed
into arti®cial clinical vignettes then assessed by specialists
We found an 80% accuracy for the clinical diagnosis of
who have had no contact with the patient. This methodology
PSP in the present series. There is little available comparative
potentially allows certain subtle, but diagnostically valuable,
literature, but there are case reports of patients with patho-
clinical information to be highlighted in the vignette,
logically established MSA, DLB, CBD and diffuse sub-
increasing the chances of an accurate diagnosis, while on
cortical gliosis being clinically diagnosed as having PSP
the other hand it depends heavily on the reliability and
(Fearnley et al., 1991; Wenning et al., 1998). The clinical
completeness of the supplied clinical picture by the partici-
heterogeneity of PSP, with cases lacking a supranuclear gaze
pating neurological centre. We believe our ®ndings re¯ect the
palsy, presenting as an isolated akinetic±rigid syndrome or as
reality of diagnostic accuracy amongst experienced fully
a pure progressive dementing syndrome, has been delineated
trained neurologists specializing in movement disorders. We
more clearly over the last decade (Daniel et al., 1995; Litvan
have not sought to describe in detail the clinical features of
et al., 1996a; Verny et al., 1996). This dif®culty in clinical
the cases nor to apply available consensus diagnostic criteria,
diagnosis is likely to be responsible for the reduced sensitivity
merely to report the observed diagnostic accuracy in the light
of the available literature. The cohort of cases studied is
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Novità del c.d. “Decreto IMU” dopo la conversione in Legge Con la pubblicazione sul S.O. n. 73/L alla G.U. 29.10.2013, n. 254 è entrata in vigore, a decorrere dal 30.10.2013, la Legge 28.10.2013, n. 124 di conversione del DL n. 102/2013, c.d. “Decreto IMU”. Nell’iter di conversione il citato Decreto ha subito una serie di interessantti modifiche di seguito illustrate. NOVIT�