9 Facts About Parkinson’s Disease Everyone Should Know

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6. Men are affected more often than women

Although Parkinson’s disease affects individuals of both genders, it affects men more often. Men are approximately 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with it than their female counterparts.

 

7. Mental Health

While the physical symptoms of Parkinson’s are important, it is also vital to consider the mental and emotional health of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Depression affects over half of individuals with Parkinson’s, and anxiety affects nearly half. To complicate matters, stress can exacerbate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Fortunately, telling people about the influence of stress and talking about emotional aspects of the disease has been shown to ease some of the symptoms.

 

8. Treatment should be tailored to your symptoms and your preferences

For individuals with Parkinson’s disease, it is important that their treatment is tailored to their specific needs. Just as symptoms of the disease vary by person, so should treatment plans. To be the most effective, patients should work with their care team to have true patient centered care.

 

9. Clinical trials are promising

Although the idea may be intimidating or even a bit daunting, clinical trials can be a promising way to receive a high standard of care from leading healthcare professionals and access new types of treatments. Besides that, clinical trials are the best method we have at eventually finding an effective treatment, cure, or even prevention of Parkinson’s disease. And while clinical trials do come with risks, participating in a one is at the very least worth considering.

 

READ ALSO: Can Nicotine Fight Parkinson’s Disease? Video

 

While these 10 facts describe important characteristics of Parkinson’s disease, you may or may not have known there is even more information out there. And what is important is that through science, we are learning more about this disease every day. The more we learn and the more we educate others, the closer we are to making Parkinson’s disease a thing of the past.

References:

www.radiopaedia.org

www.nia.nih.gov

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