An Overview Of Parkinson’s Disease

What do Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali, Pope John Paul II and the Reverend Billy Graham have in common? Aside from the obvious answer that they're all famous people, they all share a common diagnosis Parkinson’s Disease. It’s a diagnosis that they share with millions of adults around the world. According to the National Institutes of Health, Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease affecting American adults right after Alzheimer’s Disease.

Symptoms resembling Parkinson’s Disease have been described by writers of the Ayurveda in 5,000 B.C., and in the first Chinese medical text nearly 2,500 years ago, but the disease is named for Dr. James Parkinson, who first described the condition formally in 1817 in an essay called An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.

Parkinson’s affects approximately 1 in 100 people over the age of 60 nearly 500,000 people in the United States, with another 50,000 cases reported every year. While Parkinson’s usually affects those over 60, about 5-10% of those new diagnoses up to 5,000 cases per year will be in adults under the age of 40.

Parkinson’s is particularly devastating to its victims and their families. It usually begins with a barely noticed tremble or stiffness in one limb. More often than not, that first warning tremble is ignored. Most adults who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s wait nearly a year after the initial onset of symptoms before seeing a doctor for a diagnosis. Eventually, Parkinson’s can render its sufferers completely immobile through paralysis that takes over the body in minute increments.

The symptoms of Parkinson’s include a tremor of one or more limbs, especially when the body is at rest, slowed movements (known as bradykinesia), inability to move (akinesia) and rigid limbs. As the symptoms progress, they may lead to a shuffling gait, loss of balance and stooped posture. Eventually, Parkinson’s may affect speech, movement, facial movement, mood (depression is common among Parkinson’s patients) and mental health (dementia is one long term effect of Parkinson’s).

While there are many theories about what causes Parkinson’s Disease, none have yet been proven. There seems to be a genetic link in about 1% of all Parkinson’s cases there is a strong family history of the disease. There have been a number of reported cases related to exposure to an illegal drug contaminated with MPTP, and in those who contracted a severe form of influenza in the early 1900s. Most doctors agree that there is a genetic component to the disease, most likely an inherited susceptibility that may be triggered by environmental factors.

In addition to Parkinson’s Disease, there are a number of conditions that have many of the symptoms. These include medication-induced parkinsonism, vascular-induced parkinsonism and atypical parkinsonism. It’s nearly impossible to differentiate between the conditions in the early stages of Parkinson’s, but there are some clues that doctors can use to make a definitive diagnosis.

The prognosis for those diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease is bleak. While there is a great deal of ongoing research into causes and cures, as of now there is no treatment that is 100% effective in slowing or halting the progress of the disease. Instead, most current treatments focus on treating the symptoms of Parkinson’s and contributing to the best possible quality of life. Those treatments include medication, surgery, lifestyle changes and adjustments, and alternative therapies.




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