Harefuah
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The diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) is based on the identification of at least two of the cardinal motor signs of the disease: rest tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, and in progressive state the loss of postural reflexes. The disease is manifested mainly by motor signs but several non-motor features are present in patients with PD. ⋯ We review part of the different non-motor symptoms that can be present in patients with PD. In many cases, the non-motor symptoms could cause important Limitations in the functionality of the patients, no less than the motor symptoms, and they are often difficult to treat.
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Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia in advanced age with a prevalence of above 40% among persons 80 years or older. In recent years, new studies have made some important discoveries regarding the pathogenesis of the diseases and potential therapeutic measures. These developments have led to the announcement of new guidelines for the diagnosis of the disease published by the National Institute on Aging and the ALzheimer's Association. ⋯ These biomarkers include atrophy of the medial temporal lobe by MRI, reduction of glucose metabolism in specific brain areas by PET-FDG and presence of beta-amyloid staining in the brain by PET-amyloid scan. In addition, there are also cerebrospinal fluid ICSF) biomarkers characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, which consist of low levels of Abeta42 and elevated levels of total and phosphorylated TAU. These biomarkers may be used to diagnose the disease in the early pre-symptomatic phase, to differentiate Alzheimer's disease from other causes of dementia and may be helpful in the follow-up of newly developed specific treatments.