As many as a million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease, a chronic neurological disorder that affects voluntary movement, balance and speech.
The disease, which gets more severe over time, is more common in men than women, and usually develops after age 50. Shortly before his death, actor Robin Williams, 63, learned he had Parkinson’s disease, a chronic neurological disorder that affects speech, balance and voluntary movement.
Parkinson’s occurs when certain brain cells begin to malfunction and then die off. As those cells die, a shortage of the brain chemical dopamine develops. Dopamine plays many roles in the body’s function, including helping control muscle movement and coordination. As the disease progresses, the shortage of dopamine worsens, which means symptoms like muscle tremors and rigidity get worse.
It’s unknown why the brain cells begin to die off, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.
The disease progresses differently in everyone, but there are four tell-tale motor symptoms of Parkinson’s:
- tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face when they’re at rest
- bradykinesia or slowness of movement
- rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk
- postural instability or impaired balance and coordination
Symptoms that aren’t related to muscle movement include cognitive impairment, mood and sleep disorders, constipation, loss of the sense of smell and difficulty speaking and swallowing, according to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Depression is common in Parkinson’s patients, and in many cases, the changes the disease creates in the brain itself likely lead to depression, Parkinson’s is rarely fatal in and of itself, but it is disabling. As symptoms worsen, people are no longer able to work or enjoy normal activities. People with Parkinson’s may die of complications related to its symptoms, such as pneumonia or injuries from a fall.
There is no cure for Parkinson’s. Treatments include the medication levodopa, which replaces some of the dopamine shortfall in the brain and helps improve muscle coordination. Physical and occupational therapy and brain implants inserted surgically also help some patients.
