Are there circumstances that a stroke can cause Parkinson's?

My Father in law suffered a stroke in Jul 19 on the right side of the brain. However he was completely paralysed on the left side when he was found but he is at home now and has been for the last 4 weeks. He seemed to be improving at such a fast pace while in hospital, and I understand that there were daily therapists helping there but this is no longer the case. He seems to have plateaued. He has become paranoid and unfortunately gets up during the night and gets agitated this wasn't happening before. There is still a lot of neglect on the left side and we understand that this may never improve. We have seen doctors and have inquired about him being paranoid (he wasn't like that before the stroke) . Now a doctor has suggested that he may have Parkinson disease but early stages. There are no tremors or any of the obvious signs. This came up because we are querying the disorientation and the paranoia. Is it common for Parkinson's to be an onset of Stroke? (mind you I believe any formal testing has been done to identify if this is the case) Is it common for a patient to get paranoid after a stroke? We are completely lost as to where to go from here. Thank you for reading my message and look forward to some guidance.

Hi Aldina,

We are sorry to hear about your father in law’s stroke. It is good that he has returned home.

Some stroke survivors describe feeling like they’ve reached a plateau after returning home. This might be due to recovery slowing down after being gains are more obvious or larger initially. It can also be due to the reduced intensity or frequency of therapy after leaving hospital. The good news is that recovery is lifelong and improvements can continue with ongoing rehabilitation due to neuroplasticity. Is he still receiving community or outpatient rehabilitation?

There are some links between stroke and Parkinson’s disease, however studies haven't been able to prove that one condition causes the other. Studies suggest a separate, unknown factor might independently link the two conditions.

Paranoia isn’t normal after stroke and we would suggest you continue to liaise with the doctors about this. They will be able to rule out whether there is an infection or it might be due to a medication side effect or another cause.

It sounds like it might be a waiting game at the moment until the doctors find some answers. Does your father in law have another appointment with his doctors soon?

If you would like to call us on StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 our health professionals are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm and can discuss this with you more.

Chloe and Simone, StrokeLine

Are there circumstances that a stroke can cause Parkinson's?

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