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Parkinson's Disease is one of a larger group of neurological conditions called motor system disorders. Parkinson's is a disorder that affects nerve cells (neurons) in the part of the brain that controls muscle movement. After Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease is the most common neuro-degenerative disease to affect the human race.

Parkinson’s Disease is characterized by:

 trembling

 muscle rigidity

 difficulty walking

 problems with balance and coordination.

Parkinson's Disease mostly develops in people after the age of 50, although the disease does affect a small percentage of younger people as well. Approximately, 0.1 - 0.2% of the population have Parkinson's, but for people over 50, people are ten times more likely to suffer from the disease, with 1 - 2% of the over 50's having Parkinson's.

Over 4 million people in the world have Parkinson's Disease - more than those affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Muscular Dystrophy, and Lou Gehrig's Disease combined. Over one million people in the United States have Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's is a progressive disease, which means that the symptoms become more severe over time. Eventually, after many years, Parkinson's may be disabling. However, the disease usually progresses so slowly that the vast majority of people have many years of productive living after a diagnosis and before the symptoms become severe.
Unlike many other serious neurological diseases, the symptoms of Parkinson's are mostly treatable with a range of medications and treatments, and these can be used to reduce the effects of Parkinson’s.

There is no particular hurry to begin treatment for the symptoms of Parkinson's. If treatment is not started immediately, then the person is not disadvantaged in any way. In fact, some specialists suggest that a person waits until their symptoms are causing some difficulties with their daily living before they start treatment.

Various drugs can improve the physical symptoms, but they can have a range of side-effects that include hallucinations, delusions, and a temporary worsening of confusion and abnormal movements.

Though full-blown Parkinson's can be crippling or disabling, early symptoms may be so subtle and gradual that patients sometimes ignore them or attribute them to the effects of aging. For example, initially patients may feel overly tired, "down in the dumps," or a little shaky. Or, their speech may become soft and they may become irritable for no reason. Movements may be stiff, unsteady, or unusually slow. Late in the course of the disease, some people may develop dementia.

The onset of Parkinson’s disease does not hasten an individual’s death, but it does affect longevity. It is not a contagious disease by any means and is not found to run in families in the way that certain types of cancers and heart disease do. After the age of 75, most of us are safe as the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease drops to almost zero.

Although as previously mentioned, Parkinson’s does not run in families, there is a higher risk of developing it if a person had a parent or sibling who developed the condition before reaching the age of 50. Those of European ancestry appear to be at higher risk although science has not proven why that is so.

There is not one particular test that can diagnose Parkinson’s disease, therefore a doctor must put his/her patient through a battery of tests to determine or rule out Parkinson’s. A brain-imaging scan is one of the tests that are often conducted. Parkinson’s disease is not always diagnosed as such from the onset and is sometimes believed to be caused by overtiredness, stress or simply aging. Sometimes as well, doctors make an incorrect diagnosis of arthritis because of the problems related to movement of joints.

Some common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are occasional and rhythmic tremors in the extremities (arms, legs, feet, hands and fingers), the jaw and/or face; slowness in regards to movement (also known as bradykinesia); rigidity (or akinesia) that develops in the neck, arms, torso or legs; difficulty with speech; problems with balancing one’s body and coordinating movements and being extremely fatigued, cranky or generally just feeling discouraged with one’s life.


Please click on List of Details to read about many different aspects of Parkinson's Disease.