I dedicate this page to my maternal grandfather (Mohawk) who suffered from the disease and to a Cherokee colleague who has been recently diagnosed with this disease. It was on my colleague's suggestion that this page be put up.

The Disease

• Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system affecting over 1 million people in the United States.
• Clinically, the disease is characterized by a decrease in spontaneous movements, gait difficulty postural instability, rigidity and tremor.
• Parkinson's disease is caused by the degeneration of the pigmented neurons in the Substantia Nigra of the brain, resulting in decreased dopamine availability.
• The major symptoms of the disease were originally described in 1817 by an English physician, Dr. James Parkinson, who called it "Shaking Palsy".
• Only in the 1960's, however, pathological and biochemical changes in the brain of patients were identified, opening the way to the first effective medication for the disease.

Incidence

• Both men and women are affected from all walks of life, including American Indians.
• The frequency of the disease is considerably higher in the over 50 age group, even though there is an alarming increase of patients in their 30's and 40's.
• In consideration of the increased life expectancy in this country and worldwide, an increasing number of people will be victims of Parkinson's disease.

Treatment

• Administration of the drug levodopa has been the standard treatment for Parkinson's disease.
• Once it reaches the brain, levodopa is converted to dopamine which replaces the same substance not present in sufficient amounts in Parkinson's patients.
• Treatment with levodopa does not, however, prevent the progressive changes of the brain typical of Parkinson's disease.
• The drug may also produce side effects in some people, due to its change to dopamine before reaching the brain.
• The simultaneous administration with levodopa of substances inhibiting this change allows a higher concentration of levodopa to reach the brain and also considerably decreases the side effects.
• Drugs developed at a later time include Dopamine Agonists and COMT Enzyme inhibitors (ex. Tasmar ®) and CMT (ex. Eldepryl ®).
• Other drugs are under investigation in this country and overseas in an effort to obtain better therapeutic results with fewer side effects. 

Source: National Parkinson's Institute