Context

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease of the elderly affecting approximately 1.5%-2.0% of the population older than age 60. The disease affects men and women in a 3:2 ratio.

It is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system resulting in disturbances in motor skills and speech.

There is muscle rigidity and tremor, with a slowing of physical movement (bradykinesia). The combination of rigidity, tremor and bradykinesia leads to postural instability and the classic festinating gait [1].

Idiopathic PD is by far the most common ’cause’, although similar features are seen as a result of toxins, head trauma, cerebral anoxia, and various drug-induced syndromes.

The disease is named after the 19th century English physician James Parkinson, who made a detailed description of the disease in his essay: “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy” in 1817 [2].

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