What is PSP Behaviour?

People with PSP may become irritable, forgetful, or depressed, and they may become less interested in things. They may also become more impulsive in their decision-making. PSP is a disease that changes with time. A person with PSP can live many years with the disease.

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].

What are the 4 stages of PSP?

What are the first signs of PSP?

The most frequent first symptom of PSP is a loss of balance while walking. You may also have abrupt and unexplained falls without loss of consciousness, a stiff and awkward gait, or slow movement. As the disease progresses, most people develop blurred vision and problems controlling eye movement.

What triggers 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.

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

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.

Is PSP worse than Parkinson's?

Progressive supranuclear palsy is rare. It may be easily mistaken for Parkinson disease, which is much more common and has similar symptoms. But with PSP, speech and difficulty swallowing are usually affected more significantly than with Parkinson disease.

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.

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.

What happens in the last stages of PSP?

Advanced stages

As PSP progresses to an advanced stage, people with the condition normally begin to experience increasing difficulties controlling the muscles of their mouth, throat and tongue. Speech may become increasingly slow and slurred, making it harder to understand.

Do PSP patients sleep a lot?

Patients with PSP may have significant sleep pattern disruptions because the disease affects some neural circuitries that are involved in sleep processing. They may suffer from insomnia, including difficulties with falling and staying asleep.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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 does end stage PSP look like?

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.

What is the 4th stage of PSP disease?

Advanced stage: In the advanced stage of PSP, individuals may become wheelchair-bound and require assistance with daily activities such as eating, dressing, and bathing. Symptoms such as rigidity, spasticity, and involuntary movements become more severe.

What is the life expectancy of someone with PSP palsy?

What is the life expectancy of someone with progressive supranuclear palsy? People with progressive supranuclear palsy typically die six to nine years after their diagnosis. But this can vary. PSP symptoms increase your risk of developing pneumonia, which can be fatal.

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.

Can you drive if you have PSP?

Loss of strength, slower reaction time, lack of concentration, vision problems may arise. Driving can become more hazardous. If members of your family suggest that you should stop driving you should take heed.

What causes death in PSP?

Problems swallowing, which can lead to choking or inhaling food or liquid into your airway (aspiration) Pneumonia, which can be caused by aspiration and is the most common cause of death in people with progressive supranuclear palsy.

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].

What celebrities 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.