STAGES OF CORTICOBASAL DEGENERATION( CBD)
Stages of Corticobasal Degeneration( CBD) and Corticobasal Degeneration Syndrome( CBS)
Corticobasal Degeneration( CBD) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease that impacts movement and speech. CBD progresses over time and the distinctions between stages aren’ t always clear. There are some notable changes that happen throughout the disease, and those are often marked as four main“ stages”. Knowing what may lie ahead helps to plan and prepare as symptoms and care needs progress over time.
It’ s important to remember that everyone with CBD experiences the disease differently. Symptoms and their severity vary widely, and someone can be in each stage from anywhere between 1 to 4 years. Differences in disease symptoms and rate of progression make it difficult to compare one disease journey to another. For example, some middle or late-stage symptoms may start in the early stage, while others may not experience typical early onset symptoms until later. However, it can be helpful to use some of these markers to know roughly where someone is in the disease journey so that the best treatment and care can be decided.
Please note: Corticobasal syndrome( CBS) is the clinical diagnosis given during life, while the term CBD is increasingly being reserved for cases confirmed through autopsy. However, many people are still commonly told they have CBD. To maintain consistency with our other resources and what people may have already heard from their doctors, we will continue using the term CBD here.
Early Stage
The early stage of CBD is when people begin to experience symptoms. For many people with CBD, they notice that motor symptoms are only affecting one side of the body. Some people in the early stage are bothered enough by their symptoms that they visit their primary care practitioner, a neurologist or a different healthcare professional. Many people in this stage are initially diagnosed with Parkinson’ s disease due to similar motor symptoms. Some people receive a clinical diagnosis of CBD or CBS while in this stage, but not all. Below are symptoms people may experience in the early stage: Motor Symptoms people may experience:
• Clumsiness
• Difficulty with fine motor tasks, such as buttoning shirts or writing
• A loss of coordination often affecting one limb or side of the body more than the other
• Possible balance loss with falls Non-motor symptoms people may experience:
• Mild cognitive symptoms
• Difficulties with executive function and language including word-finding
• Loss of initiative Impact on daily living:
• More time required to complete daily activities
• No assistance from persons or devices is required to perform daily activities, though assistance may improve safety, convenience or comfort