Example differential diagnosis – corticobasal degeneration (CBD)

Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a rare, fatal, neurodegenerative condition.¹ The features of CBD include asymmetrical rigidity, parkinsonism, dystonia, myoclonus, apraxia, cortical sensory loss, and an ‘alien hand’.² Pathologically, CBS is characterised by plaques formed of tau protein (four-repeat tau) that form within striatal neurones and glial cells.^1,2

References:
1.Niccolini F, Politis M. A systematic review of lessons learned from PET molecular imaging research in atypical parkinsonism. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2016; 43 (12): 2244–2254.

2.Kouri N, Whitwell JL, Josephs KA, et al. Corticobasal degeneration: a pathologically distinct 4R tauopathy. Nat Rev Neurol 2011; 7 (5): 263–272.