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Who Can Be Affected By Parkinson's Disease?

As in any disease or condition that receives media attention the public asks who can get it? What they really want to know is, "Can I get it?"

On average one person in every 500 is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Most of these individuals are older in their 50, 60 and above, rarely someone younger than 40 is diagnosed with Parkinson's (5%). By the time you are in the demographic of being in your 80s your risk has risen to 2 out of every 100. Parkinson's seems to not be picky about race or sex as anyone can develop the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. There are other factors for Parkinson's besides age.

The other risk factors for Parkinson's include having a high exposure to pesticides or herbicides, living in a rural community, having had a previous head injury, experiencing an impairment of smelling capacity, having an obsessive personality, and experiencing severe emotional trauma or loss, or experiencing long periods of stress. There may be a small percentage of Parkinson's where there is a heredity connection. Where the disease is inherited, the individual usually develops the disease before the age of 50. The genes alpha-synuclein, and parkin have been linked to Parkinson's disease by researchers. There may be other genes involved in the disease that has not been determined yet.

You will know that you may be someone who can be affected by Parkinson's disease if you experience any of the following symptoms. The symptoms may be mild at first.

* Tremors while your body is at rest

* Stiffness and muscle cramps, which are known as rigidity. This may be particularly noticeable in the arm, leg, or neck.

* Difficult initiating movement such as difficulty getting started taking that first step when attempting to walk

* Poor balance, shuffling, difficulty turning, or stumbling over nothing at all

* Expressionless face as if you are wearing a mask

* Decreased manual dexterity

* Handwriting that becomes smaller an not legible

* Drooling, especially during sleep

* Sleep problems either in getting to sleep or staying asleep

* Urinating a lot at night

* Feeling anxiety or depression

* Constipation from the body functions slowing down

* Having trouble turning over when trying to sleep at night

If you notice any of these symptoms you can let your doctor know so that you can be evaluated. Do not panic if you notice any of these symptoms because a lot of these symptoms occur with other medical conditions as well, so having one or more of these symptoms do not necessarily mean that you have Parkinson's disease. It is possible though that Parkinson's may affect you if you do have any of the symptoms so to be sure seek medical attention, it will put your mind at ease.