" What is Parkinson's Disease Anyway?"

Still snowed in, so let me answer a question sent into the blog, " What is PD anyway?"

Parkinson's affects the way you move, but is a disease based in the brain. The nerve cells that produce the chemical Dopamine begin to die off, and when the level of dopamine falls too low- symptoms begin to show. Dopamine is responsible for smooth control of our muscles and movement; both conscious movements like walking or unconscious ones like blinking or moving your arms as you walk along. Common symptoms include a tremor or shaking, stiffness and slowness of movement, difficulty with gait and balance, softening of the voice and loss of facial expression. Other areas affected can include sleep disturbance, fatigue, reduced tolerance to stress and cognitive changes in thinking and memory.

Most people are diagnosed after age 55, but it can occur in much younger people as well. While it is not fatal, it is progressive- getting worse over time, generally slowly over a period of years. Despite intensive research, we still don't know a clear cause- and many people with Parkinson's are like me- with No family history of PD at all. For more info on PD, you can check WebMD, Wikipedia, or the Mayo Clinic website. Thanks for asking!