
- difficulty controlling your limb on one side of the body (a "useless" hand)
- muscle stiffness.
- shaking (tremors), jerky movements and spasms (dystonia)
- problems with balance and co-ordination.
- slow and slurred speech.
- symptoms of dementia, such as memory and visual problems.
- slow, effortful speech.
Explore
Corticobasal degeneration 1 Diagnosis. A diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration is made based on your signs and symptoms. ... 2 Treatment. There are no treatments that help slow the progression of corticobasal degeneration. ... 3 Clinical trials. ... 4 Preparing for your appointment. ...
How to get a diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration?
Half of the people who have signs and symptoms of corticobasal degeneration have another disease. The symptoms of corticobasal degeneration progress to serious complications, such as pneumonia or sepsis, a life-threatening response to an infection. Corticobasal degeneration complications ultimately lead to death.
What are the complications of corticobasal degeneration?
In recent years Corticobasal Degeneration is seen to be a tauopathy [22]. This is believed due to the most common indicator of CBD being a faulty tau protein. Tau proteins are integral in keeping microtubules stable and these defective cells create 4 microtubule-binding repeats [23].
Can CBD cause corticobasal degeneration?
Corticobasal degeneration is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative disease and a member of the 'parkinsonian' group of disorders, which also includes Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy.
What is atypical corticobasal degeneration?

Does CBD make you stiff?
As CBD reaches an advanced stage, muscle stiffness will continue to get worse. People with the condition may lose the ability to move 1 or more limbs. Some people are unable to walk and need a wheelchair or assistance to transfer (such as help getting into and out of bed).
Can CBD be mistaken for dementia?
The condition tends to develop gradually, which means it can be mistaken for another condition at first – such as Parkinson's disease , dementia or a stroke. The symptoms typically become more severe over several years, although the speed at which they worsen varies. Some of the main symptoms of CBD are outlined below.
Does CBD cause slurred speech?
Many people have problems with their speech, which will become slow and slurred. Some people with CBD also have dementia, although this doesn't always occur, symptoms may include: problems recalling words, reading and using correct language ( aphasia) short-term memory loss.
When do you start to feel the effects of corticobasal degeneration?
Corticobasal Degeneration. Signs and Symptoms. The gradual loss of brain tissue and symptoms typically begin between ages 45 and 70. Initial symptoms include stiffness; shaky, slow or clumsy movements; and difficulty with speech and comprehension.
What are the problems with CBD?
Reading, writing and simple mathematical calculations also may be impaired. Personality changes, inappropriate behavior and repetitive and compulsive activities similar to those in frontotemporal dementia are common in CBD.
What are the symptoms of muscle control?
Other symptoms include: Memory Short-term memory problems, such as repeating questions or misplacing objects. Symptoms related to muscle control usually begin on one side of the body and spread gradually to the other.
Is CBD a Parkinson's disease?
In the past, patients have been diagnosed on the basis of movement problems that appear similar to Parkinson's disease. CBD patients also experience many symptoms that are not characteristic of Parkinson's and it is sometimes referred to as a " Parkinson's-plus"' syndrome .
What are the symptoms of corticobasal degeneration?
Additional symptoms of corticobasal degeneration may include a slight tremor while in particular positions (postural tremor) or while performing a task (action tremor), and/or exaggerated slowness of movements ( bradykinesia) or lack of movement ( akinesia). Sudden, brief involuntary muscle spasms that cause jerky movements (myoclonus) may also occur.
Why is corticobasal degeneration called corticobasal syndrome?
Because signs and symptoms associated with corticobasal degeneration are frequently caused by other neurodegenerative disorders, researchers use the term “corticobasal syndrome” to indicate the clinical diagnosis based on signs and symptoms. The term “corticobasal degeneration” refers to those meeting the neuropathological criteria for ...
What is the term for a disease that affects the arms and legs?
Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a rare progressive neurological disorder characterized by cell loss and deterioration of specific areas of the brain. Affected individuals often initially experience motor abnormalities in one limb that eventually spreads to affect all the arms and legs.
What is the basal ganglia?
The basal ganglia is a cluster of nerve cells that is involved with motor and learning functions. Researchers have determined that a protein called tau is involved in the development of corticobasal degeneration. Tau is a specific type of protein normally found in brain cells.
Is corticobasal degeneration a neurological disorder?
For many years, corticobasal degeneration was seen as a neurological condition primarily associated with movement disorders. In recent years, researchers have noted that cognitive and behavioral abnormalities occur more frequently than initially believed.
Can corticobasal degeneration be seen in one person?
The symptoms, progression, severity and presentation of corticobasal degeneration can vary greatly from one individual to another . It is important to note that affected individuals may not have all of the symptoms discussed below. Affected individuals should talk to their physician and medical team about their specific case, associated symptoms and overall prognosis.
Does corticobasal degeneration slow down?
There is no specific treatment that slows down the progression of corticobasal degeneration. Treatment is directed toward the specific symptoms that are apparent in each individual, although most cases prove resistant to such therapy.
What is corticobasal degeneration?
Corticobasal syndrome was first recognized in 1967 when Rebeiz, Kolodny, and Richardson Jr described three people with a progressive asymmetric akinetic-rigid syndrome combined with apraxia, which they named corticodentatonigral degeneration with neuronal achromasia. The condition was "mostly forgotten" until 1989, when Marsden et al. used the name corticobasal degeneration. In 1989 Gibb and colleagues provided detailed clinical and pathological descriptions in a further three cases adopting the name corticobasal degeneration, after which various other names included "corticonigral degeneration with nuclear achromasia" and "cortical basal ganglionic degeneration". Although the underlying cause of CBD is unknown, the disease occurs as a result of damage to the basal ganglia, specifically marked by neuronal degeneration or depigmentation (loss of melanin in a neuron) in the substantia nigra. Additional distinguishing neurological features of those diagnosed with CBD consist of asymmetric atrophy of the frontal and parietal cortical regions of the brain. Postmortem studies of patients diagnosed with CBD indicate that histological attributes often involve ballooning of neurons, gliosis, and tauopathy. Much of the pioneering advancements and research performed on CBD has been completed within the past decade or so, due to the relatively recent formal recognition of the disease.
What is the corticobasal syndrome?
Main article: Corticobasal syndrome. All of the disorders and dysfunctions associated with CBD can often be categorized into a class of symptoms that present with the disease of CBD.
What are the symptoms of CBD?
Some of the most prevalent symptom types in people exhibiting CBD pertain to identifiable movement disorders and problems with cortical processing. These symptoms are initial indicators of the presence of the disease. Each of the associated movement complications typically appear asymmetrically and the symptoms are not observed uniformly throughout the body. For example, a person exhibiting an alien hand syndrome (explained later) in one hand, will not correspondingly display the same symptom in the other hand. Predominant movement disorders and cortical dysfunctions associated with CBD include:
What is alien hand syndrome?
This disorder involves the failure of an individual to control the movements of their hand, which results from the sensation that the limb is "foreign".
Is FTDP-17 a corticobasal disease?
Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease, FTDP-17 and progressive supranuclear palsy can display a corticobasal syndrome. It has been suggested that the nomenclature of corticobasal degeneration only be used for naming the disease after it has received verification through postmortem analysis of the neuropathology.
Is CBD a neuropathology?
Diagnosis is difficult, as symptoms are often similar to those of other disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and dementia with Lewy bodies, and a definitive diagnosis of CBD can only be made upon neuropathologic examination.
Is CBD a cognitive disorder?
Psychiatric and cognitive dysfunctions, although present in C BD, are much less prevalent and lack establishment as common indicators of the presence of the disease. Although corticobasal degeneration has a plethora of symptoms, some are more prevalent than others.
Diagnosis
A diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration (corticobasal syndrome) is made based on your signs and symptoms. However, your signs and symptoms could be due to another degenerative disease such as progressive supranuclear palsy, Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Treatment
There are no treatments that help slow the progression of corticobasal degeneration (corticobasal syndrome). Your doctor may recommend medications to try to manage your symptoms.
Clinical trials
Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.
Preparing for your appointment
You may start by seeing your primary care provider. Or, you may be referred immediately to a specialist, such as a neurologist.
