Parkinson’s is a progressive disease of the central nervous system that involves the death or impairment of vital nerve cells (neurons) in an area of the midbrain called the substantia nigra, which normally produces the chemical dopamine. When dopamine is missing, messages that enable the body to move smoothly and with coordination cannot travel across the nerve connections in the brain.
Everyone loses dopamine as they grow older. With Parkinson’s, the rate of loss is greater.
More than 1 million, and perhaps closer to 1.5 million people in the United States have Parkinson’s disease, making it the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States, after Alzheimer’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder associated with aging, affecting a growing segment of the population above the age of 55.
Parkinson’s affects about 1 in 100 Americans over the age of 60, with the average age of onset at 60. However, 5% - 10% of those diagnosed with Parkinson’s are less than age 40.
Parkinson’s affects men and women about equally, with a slight predominance in males.
Parkinson’s crosses social, ethnic, economic, and geographic boundaries.
Some people in the early stages assume that their symptoms are “normal aging.” Early symptoms are often subtle and sometimes fleeting.
Parkinson’s Disease at Northwestern
Although no cure currently exists for Parkinson’s, research at the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Northwestern (www.parkinsons.northwestern.edu) is leading the industry to improve treatments and may ultimately reveal the cause of – and cure for – this disease.
The Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Northwestern has an experienced multidisciplinary team dedicated to fulfilling its three-fold mission—education, patient care, research—and upholding Northwestern’s position of leadership in medical teaching, practice, and research. The Center is directed by Tanya Simuni, MD, movement disorders specialist and Neurology Residency Program Director.
The Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center is recognized by the National Parkinson Foundation as 1 of 38 worldwide Centers of Excellence, of which 27 are national.
Additionally, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine was selected by the National Institutes of Health as 1 of only 13 Morris K. Udall Centers of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease Research. Northwestern’s Udall Center is directed by
Dr. D. James Surmeier.
The Center’s physicians are national leaders in their field and are dedicated to patient care and innovative research.
Neurology at Northwestern ranks among the nation’s leading centers of neurological teaching, research and patient care. In collaboration with the Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern Memorial’s neurology program is consistently ranked among “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report, ranking 13th nationally in 2007.
