Serious Symptoms Of Parkinson's Disease

Issues Writing

Parkinson's disease can sometimes lead to issues writing, particularly with handwriting. Patients who experience a condition called freezing of gait might also have the same problems with writing. This is a motor issue that exists outside the typical gait freezing episodes. Handwriting is considered a sequential movement, which requires a specific type of motor function. This means patients who experience freezing of gait might be more likely to have handwriting impairment than patients who don't. Patients with Parkinson's disease might find that they have a decreased ability to print or to write in cursive. In one study, Parkinson's patients who have freezing of gait struggled with all forms of handwriting, but they had the most trouble when they were supposed to alternate handwriting sizes rather than shaping the letters at one continuous size. The same study showed Parkinson's disease patients without freezing of gait did experience some handwriting difficulty, but not to the same extent as those who had freezing of gait. Individuals might experience something called micrographia, which causes handwriting to be abnormally small and cramped due to a neurodegenerative disorder.

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