Parkinson’s Disease 101 What is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s
disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that
progresses slowly in most people. What this means is that
individuals with PD will be living with PD for twenty years or
more from the time of diagnosis. While Parkinson’s disease
itself is not fatal, the Center for Disease Control rated
complications from the disease as the 14th top cause of death in
the United States. There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s;
however, your doctors will be focused and dedicated to finding
treatments that help control the symptoms of PD and have a good
quality of life. Normally, there are brain cells (neurons) in
the human brain that producedopamine. These neurons concentrate
in a particular area of the brain, called the substantia nigra.
Dopamine is a chemical that relays messages between the
substantia nigra and other parts of the brain to control
movements of the human body. Dopamine helps humans to have
smooth coordinated muscle movements. When approx