Can a brain injury cause PSP?

Background: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a tauopathy that has a multifactorial etiology. Numerous studies that have investigated lead exposure and traumatic brain injury (TBI) as risk factors for other tauopathies, such as Alzheimer's disease, but not for PSP.

What part of the brain is damaged in PSP?

The exact cause of PSP is unknown, but research suggests that it involves a gradual deterioration of brain cells in a few specific areas in the brain, mainly in brain stem.

What is the main cause of PSP?

What causes PSP? PSP occurs when brain cells in certain parts of the brain are damaged as a result of a build-up of a protein called tau. Tau occurs naturally in the brain and is usually broken down before it reaches high levels. In people with PSP, it isn't broken down properly and forms harmful clumps in brain cells.

How quickly does PSP progress?

PSP typically progresses to death in 5 to 7 years,¹ with Richardson syndrome having the fastest rate of progression.

Is PSP caused by stress?

Stress is associated with the development of neurofibrillary tangles via glucocorticoids. Hypertension is associated with an increased risk for PSP by inducing the aggravation of tau pathology and neuroinflammation.

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy - Overview, Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatments, and Prognosis

What are the first signs of PSP?

Does PSP show in MRI?

MRI scans can also detect changes to the brain that are consistent with a diagnosis of PSP, such as shrinkage of certain areas. Scans that show the build-up of the tau protein in the brain that's associated with PSP are currently under development.

Has anyone ever recovered from PSP?

There's currently no cure for PSP and no way to slow it down. But several treatments can help manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.

Is PSP always fatal?

Although PSP isn't fatal, symptoms do continue to worsen and it can't be cured. Complications that result from worsening symptoms, such as pneumonia (from breathing in food particles while choking during eating), can be life threatening.

What are the 4 stages of PSP?

Do PSP patients feel pain?

Pain. Pain can be present as a direct result of PSP, or as part of any other conditions that you are experiencing.

What is the last stage of PSP?

End-of-life stage: In the end-of-life stage of PSP, individuals may be bedridden and require around-the-clock care. They may have difficulty swallowing, become more susceptible to infections, and experience other complications related to the progression of the disease.

Is PSP a form of dementia?

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a frontotemporal dementia. It is characterised by difficulties with balance, movement, vision, speech and swallowing. It is caused by progressive damage to the cells in the brain that control eye movements.

Can PSP be misdiagnosed?

PSP often is misdiagnosed because some symptoms are very much like those of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and more rare neuro-degenerative disorders, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

What personality changes occur with PSP?

PSP patients typically have deficits in cognitive functioning, difficulties with most daily activities, and present with notable behavioral disturbances—particularly apathy, impulsivity, and irritability.

What is the average age of onset for PSP?

According to some reports, PSP is estimated to affect as many as 5-17 in 100,000 people, but recent autopsy studies found PSP pathology in 2-6% of elderly people that had no diagnosis of PSP before death. The onset of this disorder occurs between 45 and 75 years of age, with the average age of onset at about 63 years.

Does PSP run in families?

Most cases of progressive supranuclear palsy are sporadic, which means they occur in people with no history of the disorder in their family. However, some people with this disorder have had family members with related conditions, such as parkinsonism and a loss of intellectual functions (dementia).

What are the traits of PSP?

As originally described, PSP was characterized by progressive supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, gait disorder and postural instability, dysarthria, dysphagia, rigidity, and frontal cognitive disturbance [1].

Is PSP a frontal lobe dementia?

Pathology. Like all FTD disorders, PSP is associated with degeneration of the brain's frontal and temporal lobes.

How rare is PSP disease?

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a rare brain disorder that causes dementia and problems with walking and balance. About 20,000 Americans — or one in every 100,000 people over age 60 — have PSP.

Is PSP a terminal illness?

The life span from diagnosis is anywhere from a few years to seven years. Of course, some people live longer than seven years.

What is the best treatment for PSP?

There are currently no medications that treat PSP specifically, but some people in the early stages of the condition may benefit from taking levodopa, amantadine or other medications used to treat Parkinson's disease.

Do people with PSP sleep?

Sleep can be challenging for people who have been diagnosed with PSP with both insomnia and impaired sleep being common. Prior studies have shown that sleep/waking regulation and REM sleep regulation are disrupted in PSP, leading to profound sleep deprivation without any recuperation the following day.

What famous people have progressive supranuclear palsy?

PSP is one of several progressive prime-of-life diseases that has claimed the lives of actors Robin Williams and Dudley Moore, and billionaire financier Richard Rainwater.

Is PSP a form of ALS?

In contrast, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is not regarded as a phenotype of PSP. The co-occurrence of PSP and ALS has recently attracted greater attention. The phenotypic coexistence of PSP and ALS has been documented in several cases [7,8,9].