About Parkinson's Disease
When I was diagnosed I knew very little about Parkinson’s, and most of my friends and family knew even less! There’s a lot of good quality information out there, and links to some of this are at the bottom of this page. I’ll try to give a broad overview here.
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Parkinson’s is named for James Parkinson, who wrote the first modern descriptions of (what he termed) the shaking palsy in 1817. The condition has been around a long time, with records dating back to antiquity. It’s also a lot more prevalent than people generally think - after Alzheimer’s, it’s the most common neurodegenerative disorder, with around 1 in 300 people developing it in their lifetime. There are around 150,000 people with Parkinson’s in the UK. Most common in later life, only about 5% of cases appear before the age of 50.
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It is the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world.
Parkinson’s symptoms are wide-ranging, and different people can have very different symptom sets. In my case, I have a near-omnipresent shake in my left side but thankfully little of anything else. Other visible symptoms can include slowness of movement, jerking movement, and sudden freezing in position. Muscle pain and cramping is common. Cognitive problems – challenges with attention and focus, memory, problems planning ahead, inappropriate behaviours – are also symptoms.
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The cause of these symptoms is the death of cells in the part of the brain most involved in producing and regulating dopamine. The medical stuff is complex but suffice it to say that dopamine is used widely for controlling – inhibiting or exciting – certain functions, and the inability to do this properly means my brain isn’t working in the way it should, a bit like a misfiring engine. The various symptoms of Parkinson’s result from this.
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So what causes all this? Well, ultimately, we don’t know for sure. The evidence suggests that there’s a complex genetic component, and the presence of certain genes - or gene defects - makes you more likely to develop the condition. But it’s complex, because even the most common genetic factor linked to Parkinson’s is only found in about 15% of patients.
Parkinson’s is currently treatable, but uncurable and progressive. Until the late 1960s, there wasn’t a drug for treating Parkinson’s but now there are several, of different classes. Many of the symptoms are controllable as a result (though tremor – my only symptom! – isn’t well controlled by drugs). There is significant research into the causes and possible treatments for Parkinson’s, including in exploring repurposing existing drugs – like the respiratory treatment Ambroxol – to work with Parkisnson’s. Unfortunately, even with innovative approaches to speed trials, many for these drugs will be five, ten, or even more years away.
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You can find out more at the links below:
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What is Parkinson's? | Parkinson's UK (parkinsons.org.uk)
Parkinson's disease - Wikipedia
Cure Parkinson's | UK charity working to end Parkinson's (cureparkinsons.org.uk)
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research | Parkinson's Disease (michaeljfox.org)
