Parkinson's - The Shaking Palsy
By Damian Bennett
Parkinson's disease afflicts an estimated four million people worldwide and
is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's. It was
first brought to the attention of the medical world nearly 200 years ago, by
London physician James Parkinson. Two centuries later, the much sought after
cure is still beyond the reach of scientists.
James Parkinson described this chronic, progressive condition as the "shaking
palsy" because trembling limbs (known as tremor) are one of the most common and
obvious symptoms. Rigid or "frozen" muscles, slowness of movement and clumsiness
are among other common symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). A large proportion
of sufferers also experience depression, partly because of the disease itself
(which affects the nerve cells in part of the brain) and partly because of the
emotional turmoil which inevitably follows a diagnosis. Taken together, it's
small wonder that so many Parkinson's disease patients still feel there's a stigma attached to
the disease and are too embarrassed to tell work colleagues and even close
relatives and friends.
Of course a person's world is rocked to its foundations when a Parkinson's
disease diagnosis is pronounced. Until a cure is found this is a condition which
can only get worse with the passing of time and many victims become wheelchair
bound or institutionalised.
The good news is that, thanks to medical advances in recent years, the
disease can be effectively managed as long as it's identified early enough and
appropriate treatment is started. Many PD sufferers continue to work and live
highly productive lives for years after their diagnosis.
Diagnosis in itself is a problem because the symptoms of the disease are
often confused with those of other conditions. Misdiagnosis, especially in the
early stages of the disease, is fairly common and in fact many Parkinson's
patients are never diagnosed at all (the condition may only be revealed after
death during a post mortem). Other people displaying Parkinson's disease type symptoms have been
treated for the disease for years only to discover later that the doctors got it
wrong and they never had the condition at all!
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