Parkinsonism encompasses various conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, sharing similar symptoms like rigidity, stiffness, and tremors.

To illustrate, Parkinson’s falls under the category of parkinsonism, but not all conditions within parkinsonism are Parkinson’s disease.

The primary forms of Parkinsonism include:

1. Idiopathic Parkinson’s: This refers to Parkinson’s disease where the cause is unknown, constituting the most common type of Parkinsonism. While a small portion of Parkinson’s cases are hereditary, resulting from genetic causes.
2. Vascular Parkinsonism: Characterized by reduced blood supply to the brain, potentially due to mild strokes, impacting memory, mood, and sleep.
3. Drug-induced Parkinsonism: Caused by neuroleptic drugs used in treating schizophrenia and psychotic disorders, which block dopamine function. Symptoms of drug-induced parkinsonism typically remain stable and may reverse upon discontinuing the medication.

Other less common types of parkinsonism include essential tremors. Parkinsonisms that are not Parkinson’s often do not respond to medications used for Parkinson’s disease.