Is Parkinson’s Disease Common

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Trouble Moving Or Walking

Do you feel stiff in your body, arms or legs? Have others noticed that your arms dont swing like they used to when you walk? Sometimes stiffness goes away as you move. If it does not, it can be a sign of Parkinson’s disease. An early sign might be stiffness or pain in your shoulder or hips. People sometimes say their feet seem stuck to the floor.

What is normal?If you have injured your arm or shoulder, you may not be able to use it as well until it is healed, or another illness like arthritis might cause the same symptom.

The Plus Side Of An Early Diagnosis

The news is not nearly all bad for those with young-onset Parkinsons. For one thing, patients with YOPD are better candidates for surgical procedures and medical innovations being used or developed to treat Parkinsons disease. For another, younger patients are less likely to be coping with other health problems at the same time.

Targeting Parkinsons-Linked Protein Could Neutralize 2 of the Diseases Causes

Researchers report they have discovered how two problem proteins known to cause Parkinsons disease are chemically linked, suggesting that someday, both could be neutralized by a single drug designed to target the link.

Spatial Analysis Of Parkinson Disease: Bayesian Modeling And Mapping Of Parkinson Disease Incidence And Prevalence

To produce smoothed disease maps, we applied a conditionally autoregressive model to predict county level incidence and prevalence rates of Parkinson disease. This model is derived from a traditional multilevel design, but takes into account spatial adjacency relationships between counties by assuming that neighboring areas had similar spatial variation.

To capture the random effects between counties, we computed the median relative risk and interquartile relative risk . The median relative risk is always greater than or equal to 1 and higher values suggest greater spatial variance. The interquartile relative risk reflects a difference of relative risks between the highest and lowest quartiles of incidence or prevalence. We also performed a high/low Getis-Ord General G cluster analysis to determine the probability of nonrandom grouping of either high or low county prevalence or incidence.

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What Are The Stages Of Parkinsons Disease

Parkinsons disease is often divided into two parts: early stage and advanced stage disease.

• Early stage: when symptoms appear and start to affect everyday activities, such as washing, getting dressed and walking.
• Advanced stage: when motor complications occur from the long term use of one of the main treatments for Parkinsons disease, levodopa.

Englewood Hospital Will Host Panel Discussion; Jewish Home Family Initiating New Support Group

My father and both of his sisters were afflicted with Parkinsons disease, a neurological disorder that affects movement by hindering walking and affecting motor control of the hands and head. So the question Is Parkinsons a Jewish genetic disorder? has personal meaning to me.

On December 12, a program addressing that question and other topics related to Parkinsons disease will take place at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Lana Chahine, a neurologist and Parkinsons researcher, will speak, and a panel of experts will answer questions on the topic.

Co-sponsored by the Jewish Home Family, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, the free program is open to physicians, medical and elder care professionals, and members of the community. Parkinsons patients and their families are particularly encouraged to attend.

The December 12 program also marks the launch of a new community resource, the Center of Excellence in the Care of Parkinsons. The center has been developed by the Jewish Home Family, a multifaceted eldercare organization serving Bergen, Hudson, and Rockland counties.

Inheriting the LRKK2 mutation raises the risk of Parkinsons to about 30 percent, Dr. Alweiss said. While that figure is much higher than the risk the general public faces, If you have the gene there is still a good chance that you wont get the disease, he said.

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Geographic Distribution Of Parkinson Disease In The Us

The incidence and prevalence of Parkinson disease varied significantly across the United States. Disease rates were highest in the Midwest and Northeast regions, where the incidence and prevalence of Parkinson disease were 210 times greater than the rates of many Western and Southern US counties. The median relative risk and interquartile relative risk indicated that the spatial variations of the incidence and prevalence were considerable .

County level age- and race-standardized incidence of Parkinson disease among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States .

Common Misdiagnosis: Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy occurs when the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord are damaged. Muscle contractions are a common physical symptom. In contrast, PD has a variety of physical, mental, and emotional symptoms.

My husband started tremors 14 years ago but was only diagnosed last year. The doctor had previously said it was peripheral neuropathy.

My old neurologist for 11 years said peripheral neuropathy! VA then said 50/50 Parkinsons and sent me to the CU Movement Disorder Center. My new neurologist watched me walk along with other tests and said Parkinsons.

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Whats Different About Young

The age of diagnosis matters for a variety of reasons, from probable causes of early cases to symptoms and treatment:

• Genetics.;As with any case of Parkinsons disease, the exact cause is usually unknown. That said, The young-onset cases of Parkinsons disease are, on average, a bit more likely to be familial or genetic, says Gregory Pontone, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Movement Disorders Psychiatry Clinic.
• Symptoms.;In many patients with YOPD, dystonia is an early symptom. People with YOPD also report more dyskinesia . They also tend to exhibit cognitive problems, such as dementia and memory issues, less frequently.
• Progression.;Patients with young-onset Parkinsons appear to have a slower progression of the disease over time, says Pontone. They tend to have a milder course, staying functional and cognitively intact for much longer.
• Treatment.;Most patients with Parkinsons take the medication levodopa. However, other drugs, such as MAO-B inhibitors, anticholinergics, amantadine, and dopamine receptor agonists, may be used before levodopa.

What Is Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and the most common movement disorder. Characteristics of Parkinsons disease are progressive loss of muscle control, which leads to trembling of the limbs and head while at rest, stiffness, slowness, and impaired balance. As symptoms worsen, it may become difficult to walk, talk, and complete simple tasks.

The progression of Parkinson’s disease and the degree of impairment vary from person to person. Many people with Parkinson’s disease live long productive lives, whereas others become disabled much more quickly. Complications of Parkinsons such as falling-related injuries or pneumonia. However, studies of patent populations with and without Parkinsons Disease suggest the life expectancy for people with the disease is about the same as the general population.

Most people who develop Parkinson’s disease are 60 years of age or older. Since overall life expectancy is rising, the number of individuals with Parkinson’s disease will increase in the future. Adult-onset Parkinson’s disease is most common, but early-onset Parkinson’s disease , and juvenile-onset Parkinson’s disease can occur.

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Prevalence Of Parkinsons State

Western and Southern states appear to have lower rates of Parkinsons disease, while Northeastern and many Midwestern states have higher rates . Mississippi and Montana have the lowest rates of Parkinsons, at 5.1 per 10,000. Vermont has the highest rate of Parkinsons at 9.9 per 10,000.

Exhibit 2: Prevalence of Parkinsons Disease, by geography

Stooping Or Hunching Over

Are you not standing up as straight as you used to? If you or your family or friends notice that you seem to be stooping, leaning or slouching when you stand, it could be a sign of Parkinson’s disease .

What is normal?If you have pain from an injury or if you are sick, it might cause you to stand crookedly. Also, a problem with your bones can make you hunch over.

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Rural Versus Urban Analysis

The United States Department of Agriculture’s rural-urban continuum classification system defines rurality by absolute population and classifies each county in the US by degree of rurality in a rank order fashion using a nine-tier scale from a population of less than 2,500 to a population of greater than 1 million. This system separately classifies less populated areas which are adjacent to large urban areas, such as suburbs.

To determine the relationship between rurality and Parkinson disease, we applied the rural-urban continuum classification system to county level age and race standardization for Parkinson disease prevalence and incidence from the year 2002. We compared the mean prevalence and incidence across these categories of rurality using a Kruskal-Wallis test. The prevalence and incidence for the most rural counties were also compared to those of the most urban counties with a two-tailed t test.

Is Parkinsons Disease Inherited

Scientists have discovered gene mutations that are associated with Parkinsons disease.

There is some belief that some cases of early-onset Parkinsons disease disease starting before age 50 may be inherited. Scientists identified a gene mutation in people with Parkinsons disease whose brains contain Lewy bodies, which are clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein. Scientists are trying to understand the function of this protein and its relationship to genetic mutations that are sometimes seen in Parkinsons disease and in people with a type of dementia called Lewy body dementia.

Several other gene mutations have been found to play a role in Parkinsons disease. Mutations in these genes cause abnormal cell functioning, which affects the nerve cells ability to release dopamine and causes nerve cell death. Researchers are still trying to discover what causes these genes to mutate in order to understand how gene mutations influence the development of Parkinsons disease.

Scientists think that about 10% to 15% of persons with Parkinsons disease may have a genetic mutation that predisposes them to development of the disease. There are also environmental factors involved that are not fully understood.

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Incidence Of Parkinsons Disease

Its estimated that approximately four people per 1,000 in Australia have Parkinsons disease, with the incidence increasing to one in 100 over the age of 60. In Australia, there are approximately 80,000 people living with Parkinsons disease, with one in five of these people being diagnosed before the age of 50. In Victoria, more than 2,225 people are newly diagnosed with Parkinsons every year.

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Genetics Coffee Consumption And Parkinson’s Disease

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