Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's Disease

• Introduction
• What is Parkinson's Disease?
• What Causes Parkinson's Disease?
• What Genes are Linked to Parkinson's Disease?
• Who Gets Parkinson's Disease?
• What are the Symptoms of the Parkinson's Disease?
• What Other Diseases Resemble Parkinson's?
• How is Parkinson's Disease Diagnosed?
• What is the Prognosis for Parkinson's Disease?
• How is the Parkinson's Disease Treated?
• Drug Treatments
• Surgery
• Complementary and Supportive Therapies
• How Can People Cope with Parkinson's Disease?
• Can Scientists Predict or Prevent Parkinson's Disease?
• What Research is Being Done on Parkinson's Disease?
• What is the Role of the NINDS?
• What Can I Do to Help?
• Where Can I Get More Information on Parkinson's Disease?
• Patient Discussions: Parkinson's Disease: What Age of Onset and Symptoms

Introduction

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. It was first described in 1817 by James Parkinson, a British physician who published a paper on what he called "the shaking palsy." In this paper, he set forth the major symptoms of the disease that would later bear his name.

Researchers believe that at least 500,000 people in the United States currently have Parkinson's disease, although some estimates are much higher. Society pays an enormous price for Parkinson's disease. The total cost to the nation is estimated to exceed $6 billion annually. The risk of Parkinson's disease increases with age, so analysts expect the financial and public health impact of this disease to increase as the population gets older.

What is Parkinson's Disease?

Parkinson's disease belongs to a group of conditions called movement disorders. The four main symptoms are:

• tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, or head;
  
  
• rigidity, or stiffness of the limbs and trunk;
  
  
• bradykinesia, or slowness of movement; and
  
  
• postural instability, or impaired balance.

These symptoms usually begin gradually and worsen with time. As they become more pronounced, patients may have difficulty walking, talking, or completing other simple tasks. Not everyone with one or more of these symptoms has Parkinson's disease, as the symptoms sometimes appear in other diseases as well.

Parkinson's disease is both chronic, meaning it persists over a long period of time, and progressive, meaning its symptoms grow worse over time. It is not contagious. Although some Parkinson's disease cases appear to be hereditary, and a few can be traced to specific genetic mutations, most cases are sporadic — that is, the disease does not seem to run in families. Many researchers now believe that Parkinson's disease results from a combination of genetic susceptibility and exposure to one or more environmental factors that trigger the disease.

Parkinson's disease is the most common form of parkinsonism, the name for a group of disorders with similar features and symptoms. Parkinson's disease is also called primary parkinsonism or idiopathic Parkinson's disease. The term idiopathic means a disorder for which no cause has yet been found. While most forms of parkinsonism are idiopathic, there are some cases where the cause is known or suspected or where the symptoms result from another disorder. For example, parkinsonism may result from changes in the brain's blood vessels.

Parkinson's Disease: What Age of Onset and Symptoms

The MedicineNet physician editors ask:

At what age did Parkinson's first appear, and what were the symptoms?

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