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Parkinson Disease

Parkinson Disease Overview

Parkinson disease (PD) is an age-related deterioration of certain nerve systems, which affects your movement, balance, and muscle control.

  • Parkinson disease is one of the most common movement disorders, affecting 1% of people older than 60 years. PD is about 1.5 times more common in men than in women, and it becomes more common as you age.

  • The average age of onset is about 60 years. Onset before age 40 years is relatively uncommon, but the recent diagnosis of actor Michael J. Fox shows that younger people are also vulnerable.

  • In PD, brain cells deteriorate (or degenerate) in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. From the substantia nigra, specific nerve cell tracts connect to another part of the brain called the corpus striatum, where the neurotransmitter (a chemical messenger in the brain) called dopamine is released. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter and alterations in its concentration can lead to different medical problems.

  • The loss of these specific brain cells and decline in dopamine concentration are the cornerstone of signs and symptoms of PD as well as the target for treatment. The biological mechanism responsible for the brain cell loss has not been identified.



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Parkinson's Disease: What Age of Onset and Symptoms

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Parkinson Disease

Dementia »

Dementia Overview

Dementia is a decline of reasoning, memory, and other mental abilities (the cognitive functions). This decline eventually impairs the ability to carry out everyday activities such as driving; household chores; and even personal care such as bathing, dressing, and feeding (often called activities of daily living, or ADLs).

  • Dementia is most common in elderly people; it used to be called senility and was considered a normal part of aging. 

  • We now know that dementia is not a normal part of aging but is caused by a number of underlying medical conditions that can occur in both elderly and younger persons. 

  • In some cases, dementia can be reversed with proper medical treatment. In others, it is permanent and usually gets worse over time.
About 4-5 million people in the United States have some degree of dementia, and that number will increase over the next few decades with the ...

Read the Dementia article »



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Parkinson Disease »

Parkinson disease (Parkinson's disease, PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with a loss of dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons.

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