Does PSP affect the eyes?
A person with PSP will begin to experience eye problems, such as difficulty opening and closing their eyes, blinking, blurry vision, or moving their eyes side to side or up and down. Later in the disease, people with PSP may feel increasing weakness in their limbs.
What is a supranuclear gaze palsy?
Definition. A supranuclear gaze palsy is an inability to look in a particular direction as a result of cerebral impairment. There is a loss of the voluntary aspect of eye movements, but, as the brainstem is still intact, all the reflex conjugate eye movements are normal. [ from HPO]
What are the last stages of PSP?
The final stages of PSP are usually dominated by an increasingly severe dysarthria and dysphagia. These features are usually described as being part of a pseudo-bulbar palsy, as brisk jaw and facial jerks may be present.
How long can you live with progressive supranuclear palsy?
PSP is easier. It describes what I have. The life span from diagnosis is anywhere from a few years to seven years. Of course, some people live longer than seven years.
How quickly does PSP progress?
Although rare cases of PSP with more rapid progression have been described, they are typically over 2 to 3 years. Faster rates of a PSP phenotype suggest an alternative diagnosis, such as prion disease. We describe a patient whose course with pathologically confirmed PSP was under 2 years.
What causes a fixed gaze?
Common causes include strokes for horizontal gaze palsies, midbrain lesions (usually infarcts and tumors) for vertical gaze palsies, and progressive supranuclear palsy for downward gaze palsies. Treat the underlying disorder.
What is the history of vertical gaze palsy (PSP)?
Since its original description (Steele et al., 1964), vertical gaze palsy has been recognized as a defining characteristic of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) that helps clinicians differentiate this disease from other parkinsonian disorders.
What is progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)?
Progressive supranuclear palsy. A heterogeneous degeneration involving the brain stem, basal ganglia and cerebellum with vertical gaze and pseudobulbar palsy, nuchal dystonia and dementia. Arch. Neurol.10, 333–359 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
What are supranuclear gaze palsies?
Supranuclear gaze palsies. The person affected may experience an inability to move or aim the eyes vertically (particularly downward) or horizontally (left and right). They may experience rapid involuntary eye movements, or difficulty blinking or excessive blinking.
What part of the brain is involved in progressive supranuclear palsy?
The cerebellum and its output through the superior peduncle are also involved in PSP (Kanazawa et al., 2009; Dickson et al., 2010), and may be responsible for the disturbance of fixational eye movements, in which large paired horizontal saccadic intrusions frequently occur.