Parkinson’s disease can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages. There are currently no diagnostic tests available to confirm PD.
A neurologist specialising in movement disorders is the recommended medical person to see when seeking a diagnosis.
There are common PD symptoms but these vary between people and can also present in other disorders. Diagnosis may be quick for some people but may take months for others.
The doctor may arrive at the diagnosis of PD after ruling out other causes of the symptoms and if the person has a positive response to a trial of PD medication.
Technologies using presynaptic dopaminergic imaging, such as FP-CIT SPECT, may be of use in limited situations, such as in people with tremor when the diagnosis of PD cannot be separated from essential tremor. However interpretation of the scans can be difficult and may be unreliable.