# Can anyone tell me the technical name for this degenerative disorder? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 30, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762 "2002-12-30T22:41:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/1 "2002-12-30T22:41:44Z")
I was watching the film Awakenings (yes, I know, this isn’t Cafe Society but this is just a quick technical question that search engines haven’t helped me resolve) and in the movie Robert De Niro suffers from a degenerative brain condition. I cannot for the life of me think what it is called and as I take an amateur interest in such things, this makes researching it rather difficult. I can only recall two things about it. 1. It began with an E. 2. It was described by Robin Williams character as a sort of highly advanced type of Parkinsons Disease which was apparently treated successfully for a short while with a substance called L-DOPA. Thanking you in advance for your help. ---
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/2 "2002-12-30T22:43:30Z")
Oh, and it also rendered Patients catatonic. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/3 "2002-12-30T22:48:20Z")
Parkinson’s Disease. > **[Parkinson's disease](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson's_disease)** > > Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms become more common. The most obvious early symptoms are tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking. Cognitive and behavioral problems may also occur with depression, anxiety, and apathy occurring in many people with PD. Par The cause of ... > [@](#): > > One famous sufferer of young-onset Parkinson’s is Michael J. Fox, who has written a book about his experience of the disease. The film Awakenings (starring Robin Williams and Robert de Niro and based on genuine cases) also deals sensitively and largely accurately with the disease; sadly, the state of the art in treatment remains roughly the same as it was at the time of the events depicted, the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/4 "2002-12-30T22:55:49Z")
According to the [plot summary](http://us.imdb.com/Plot?0099077) at IMDb, the patients in _Awakenings_ were victims of an earlier outbreak of encephalitis. This may be what you are thinking of when you say “It began with an E.” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/5 "2002-12-30T22:57:13Z")
Forgive me. The reference to encephalitis is on the [first page](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0099077). ---
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/6 "2002-12-30T23:01:29Z")
Aha! _Thank_ you **KneadtoKnow!** All day I’ve been going about my business muttering encepathy…encephalopathy…encepathology… now I can relax 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![auliya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/90db22/32.png) [@auliya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auliya)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/7 "2002-12-30T23:34:07Z")
L-DOPA is the chemical dopamine (neurotransmitter) is synthesised from, and is used to replenish dopamine in the substantia nigra and basal ganglia. The degeneration of these mid brain structures and resultant reduction of dopamine production leads to Parkinsons disease. L-DOPA is usually only effective for a short period and becomes less effective over time I have no idea what the ‘E’ might relate to, other than encephalitis. ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/8 "2002-12-30T23:37:46Z")
According to the website of the movie’s director, [Penny Marshall](http://www.scene360.com/DIRECTORchair_marshall.html), the disease was “post-encephalitis sleep disorder.” The [Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Awakenings-1032970/dvd.php) website says this about the movie and the doctor played by Robin Williams: “A pioneering neurologist wants to take a risk and give his patients who suffer from encephalitis a drug used for Parkinson’s Disease.” [Here’s more info.](http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/bio/apbio/Projects/awkngs.htm) This is a site where you’ll see De Niro’s disease referred to as encephalitis lethargia. I just skimmed this site looking for specific words and in no way vouch for it’s accuracy. [Here’s](http://www.atf.org.au/papers/essays/o_sacks.asp) another website that mentions encephalitis lethargia–it’s about Dr. Sack and his book, on which the movie _Awakenings_ is based. And on preview I see that I gave more info than I meant and also that it’s now somewhat redundant. But I’ll hit Submit anyway because it was hard for me to find websites that contained references to both the movie and “encephalitis lethargia,” and because technical difficulties on this end have made this an amazingly difficult message to write and post. Cable ain’t always faster and Google most certainly is not always your friend. ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-the-technical-name-for-this-degenerative-disorder/145762/9 "2002-12-31T00:24:37Z")
As others have said. Best move is to read the Sacks’ book, also called _Awakenings_ (you’ll find it on Amazon, and Sacks has his own website). The illness has various names - “Von Economo’s disease”, “encephalitis lethargica”, “European sleepy sickness”. It damaged dopamine-producing regions of the brain. _Awakenings_ concerned people who had survived the acute early 20th century outbreak, but gone into ‘frozen’ states as a sequel, and were temporarily revived decades later by the administration of L-dopamine.