Posted By Sandgirl (Lawsonville, Nc, Usa) on 06/30/2011

"It is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by nerve cell loss and atrophy (shrinkage) of multiple areas of the brain including the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia. Corticobasal degeneration progresses gradually. Initial symptoms, which typically begin at or around age 60, may first appear on one side of the body (unilateral), but eventually affect both sides as the disease progresses. Symptoms are similar to those found in Parkinson disease, such as poor coordination, akinesia (an absence of movements), rigidity (a resistance to imposed movement), disequilibrium (impaired balance); and limb dystonia (abnormal muscle postures). Other symptoms such as cognitive and visual-spatial impairments, apraxia (loss of the ability to make familiar, purposeful movements), hesitant and halting speech, myoclonus (muscular jerks), and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) may also occur. An individual with corticobasal degeneration eventually becomes unable to walk."

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/corticobasal_degeneration/corticobasal_degeneration.htm

There is really no treatment. It first started out with one toe twitching and progressed to his whole foot. Within the last 6 months he has gone from walking to having to walk with a walker and that is getting very hard for him now. The foot that it is affecting now his toes are trying to curl under his foot and that is one thing that is affecting his walking. He is having gait freezing also in that leg. Does anyone have any suggestions for anything that may help him or even slow the progression of this disease?

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