Parkinsonism, gait apraxia and dementia associated with intracranial calcifications. A case report.

A 52-year-old Black man with therapy-resistant parkinsonism, gait apraxia and dementia but no endocrine abnormality was found to have extensive intracerebral calcifications which included the basal ganglia. Although most patients with radiological evidence of calcifications in the basal ganglia remain asymptomatic, a small group may present with an extrapyramidal syndrome that is usually progressive, resistant to therapy, and not associated with an endocrine disorder. Plain skull radiography and computed tomography should therefore be performed in patients presenting with a parkinsonian syndrome unresponsive to therapy.