What is Parkinson’s Disease?
One of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson's disease figures only second to Alzheimer’s disease. This is a movement disorder, which directly affects loco motor skills. The condition itself is characterized by rapid loss of control over the limbs and other muscles that control the movement of the body. Due to this loss of control over the muscles, you may experience slight trembling in the hands and feet. You may even experience a loss of sensation in the limbs along with stiffness even when your body is resting or relaxing. A lot of people are not able to balance themselves and have a tendency of falling down often. As the disease progresses and affects the nerves more, it may become difficult for the patient to walk, sit, talk or perform even the simplest of actions and tasks.
The extent to which the disease affects an individual varies from person to person. Though people with the disease may lead very long and productive lives, they often have difficulty in their daily activities and need constant assistance. There are medications that can improve the quality of life and premature death is only because of complications of the disease or injuries related to problems in movements.
Because of the high incidence of the disease, a lot of people are aware about Parkinson’s disease. Older people are more prone to developing this condition, rarely ever would a person have Parkinson’s disease before the age of 60. Though Parkinson’s disease may exist from adolescence to 40 years, adult onset Parkinson’s disease is the most common.
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