Nearly one million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease (PD), including friends, neighbors and relatives living right here in the Atlanta area. Parkinson’s disease is chronic and progressive, meaning symptoms worsen over time. And there is not yet a cure. But there is hope in the promising research ongoing. And you can help. April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Make a difference this April by donating to Parkinson’s Disease Foundation at www.pdf.org and let’s #EndParkinsons together.
The cause of PD is unknown. Parkinson’s involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Parkinson’s primarily affects neurons in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination. As PD progresses, the amount of dopamine produced in the brain decreases, leaving a person unable to control movement normally.
The specific group of symptoms that an individual experiences varies from person to person. Primary motor signs of Parkinson’s disease include the following:
- tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face
- bradykinesia or slowness of movement
- rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk
- postural instability or impaired balance and coordination
Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s each year – and this number doesn’t reflect the thousands of cases that go undetected. Incidence of Parkinson’s increases with age, but an estimated four percent of people with PD are diagnosed before the age of 50. And, men are one and a half times more likely to have Parkinson’s than women.
To learn more, visit www.pdf.org.
