5 Things We Want You to Know About Parkinson's Disease

Each year in the United States, about 90,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, contributing to the 1.1 million Americans who are living with the condition at any given time.

It’s the second-most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, behind Alzheimer’s disease, so Dr. Paul Gill and our team here at Gill Neuroscience want to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease. 

To that end, we’ve pulled together five key points about Parkinson’s disease that we share here.

Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder

We described Parkinson’s disease as a neurodegenerative disorder, but it might be more aptly described as a movement disorder. Parkinson’s symptoms are believed to be the result of a loss of neurons, including those in a part of your brain that produces dopamine. 

While you might associate dopamine with your reward circuit, this neurotransmitter is also responsible for the smooth and purposeful movements you make.

With Parkinson’s disease, people often lose 60% to 80% of their dopamine-producing neurons, which is what leads to symptoms, some of which we get into later on.

Parkinson’s disease risk factors

The risk of developing Parkinson’s disease increases with age — the mean age of onset is 60. That said, about 5-10% of cases are found in people under the age of 40.

While age is a clear risk factor for Parkinson’s disease, gender also plays a role. Men are 1.5 times more likely than women to develop the movement disorder.

Early signs of Parkinson’s disease

We want to share some early warning signs of Parkinson’s disease so you can take action if you recognize any of them in yourself or a loved one. These early signs include:

• Tremors in a finger, in a hand, or in your chin
• Handwriting becomes smaller
• Movements become stiff
• Trouble sleeping
• Loss of smell
• A softer-than-normal voice
• Dizziness and even fainting
• Loss of expression in your face

This list of symptoms isn’t complete, but it represents some of the more common and early signs of Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease is progressive

Once early symptoms start to develop, they will likely get worse, and new ones may come along, because Parkinson’s disease is progressive.

While life can become more challenging as the disease progresses, people with Parkinson’s disease have the same life expectancy as those who don’t have the neurodegenerative disorder.

There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but there is help

Since we don’t know what causes Parkinson’s disease, there is no cure. Still, we want you to know that there are ways in which we can manage the disease and minimize symptoms. 

For example, there are medications that increase the levels of dopamine in your system, as well as medications that target tremors. There are even cutting-edge treatments like deep brain stimulation and stem cell transplants.

Certain lifestyle changes can also help to manage Parkinson’s disease, such as exercises to combat the stiffness and to promote movement.

If you have more questions about Parkinson’s disease or you’d like to schedule an assessment, we’re here to help. To get started, we invite you to call our office in Houston, Texas, at 832-912-7777, or use our online form to request an appointment.