Parkinson's Disease

Each year nearly 50,000 Americans diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but getting an accurate count of the number of cases may be impossible because many people in the early stages of the disease assume their symptoms are due to normal aging and not seek help care. Furthermore, diagnosis is sometimes difficult and uncertain because other conditions can cause Parkinson’s symptoms and that there is no definitive test for the disease. Sometimes doctors tell people with Parkinson’s who have other disorders, and people with Parkinson-like diseases can be misdiagnosed as having the disease.

Parkinson’s disease affects about 50 percent more men than women, but the reasons for this discrepancy are unclear. Although it appears in people worldwide, a number of studies have found a higher incidence in developed countries, possibly due to increased exposure to pesticides or other toxins in those countries. Other studies have found an increased risk in people living in rural areas and those working in certain occupations, but studies to date are inconclusive and not clear the reasons for the apparent risks.

A clear risk factor for the disease is age. The average age of onset is 60 years and the incidence increases with age. However, about 5 to 10 percent of people with Parkinson’s disease is a disease of “early onset” that begins before age 50. Early-onset forms of the disease is usually inherited, though not always, and some have been linked to specific genetic mutations. People with one or more relatives with the disease have an increased risk of contracting the disease themselves, but the overall risk is still only 2 to 5 percent unless the family has a known genetic mutation for the disease. It is estimated that between 15 and 25 percent of people with the disease know you have a relative with the disease.

In rare cases, parkinsonian symptoms can occur in people before age 20. This condition is called juvenile parkinsonism. It is seen more commonly in Japan but has been found in other countries. It usually starts with dystonia and bradykinesia, and symptoms often improve with levodopa. Juvenile parkinsonism often runs in families and is sometimes linked with a mutated parkin gene.

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