Many Parkinson's patients suffer from depression, too

It's tough to know if a person with Parkinson's disease is depressed.

Muscle stiffness can cause even the most content person with Parkinson's to have a mask-like, inexpressive face or soft, monotone speech.

But patients, caregivers and doctors should not dismiss those symptoms merely as signs of physical disease, local experts in mental health and movement disorders said. Recent research shows a significant number of people with Parkinson's disease suffer from depression, sometimes in response to being ill, but sometimes due to changes in brain chemistry caused by the illness itself.

Even well-informed medical providers don't always catch it, they said.

"Depression can be missed, even by the patient, and is not aggressively treated," said Robin Tassinari, a psychiatrist at Albany Medical Center.

The recent death of actor Robin Williams has focused attention on both depression and Parkinson's disease. Williams, found dead from an apparent suicide a week ago, was suffering from both conditions, according to his widow.

Williams was said to be in the early stages of Parkinson's, and had struggled with depression for years. So it's unlikely that being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease caused his depression, though there's no telling from published reports whether it worsened his mental state.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder caused by the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine, a chemical that plays roles in pleasure, motivation and control of movement. The condition's most common symptoms are tremor trembling in hands, arms, legs and face stiffness, slowness, and lack of balance or coordination.

Being diagnosed with a disease like Parkinson's can cause depression for some people, Tassinari said. No matter how it is treated, a patient's condition will worsen. The diagnosis can bring on grief from the loss of a healthy life.

"It was very uneasy," 56-year-old Mark Burek, a mail carrier who lives in Castleton, said of his diagnosis six years ago. "I was just a little afraid of how it would impact my life."

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Many Parkinson's patients suffer from depression, too