Genetic Testing
Many movement disorders have symptoms in common or may mimic other diseases. With clinical documentation and over time, a true diagnosis can be obtained. For certain specific movement disorders, genetic testing has become a valuable and definitive diagnostic tool for due to substantial advancements in understanding their genetic basis.
Makati Medical Center offers genetic testing, both in-house and sent out to specialized genetic testing centers locally and abroad.
- X-linked dystonia parkinsonism (XDP), DYT3
- Huntington’s disease
Levodopa-Challenge Test
A levodopa challenge test (LCT) is a procedure that evaluates how well a patient’s parkinsonian symptoms improve after taking levodopa. It’s a common and safe way to assess a patient’s response to levodopa, a drug used to treat Parkinson’s Disease. It helps distinguish Parkinson’s disease from some parkinsonism syndromes. For candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS), it can prognosticate response to surgery.
Clinical Scales and Video
Clinical scales are rating scales used to assess the details and severity of a disease at a point in time. Progression of the disease or improvement due to treatment can be objectively determined over serial assessments over time. Video documentation may also provide a method of review, or comparison to previous ratings.
Clinical rating scales may be performed at any time by your physician, but due to the complexity and length of time to perform, it may be rushed or be a truncated assessment. Different physicians or nurses may also rate in different ways. Makati Medical Center offers a professional, objectively rated, and documented clinical rating assessment from a single source.
