The human brain is by far the most complex organ in the body. It is made of billions of nerve cells that work together to enable you to perceive the external world, to think, to talk and to move. Neurodegeneration is the term given to describe the loss of nerve cells due to natural ageing or disease. Those of us in the developed world are living longer and healthier than ever before. One in two babies born today is likely to celebrate his/her 100th birthday. But this means that the burden of neurodegenerative disease is set to rise. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, so it is important that we understand what it is and how it can be treated.
The disease was named after James Parkinson, an English pharmacist. He was first to describe this condition in an 1817 publication entitled ‘An essay on the shaking palsy’. Most cases of Parkinson’s disease are age-related, affecting 1% of people over the age of 55. In some cases, however, Parkinson’s disease develops earlier. Most famously, the actor Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 30 and the former boxer and three-times world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 42. In the UK alone, 120000 people suffer from Parkinson’s disease. It is a progressive disorder, and people begin to suspect that something is wrong when they start to experience difficulties with movement. These symptoms can include:
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