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What is Parkinson’s Disease?
Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder and develops when dopamine-producing brain cells, crucial for coordinating movement, cease functioning or die. While primarily known as a "movement disorder" due to symptoms like tremors, slowness, stiffness, rigidity, and balance issues, PD also involves non-motor symptoms such as constipation, depression, and memory problems.
This lifelong and progressive condition gradually worsens over time. The experience of PD is highly individual; the timing, type, and severity of symptoms vary significantly from person to person, making it impossible to predict an individual's specific disease course based on others.
It is estimated that nearly 1 million people in the US and over 10 million worldwide are affected by Parkinson's. Nearly 90,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year in the U.S., a 50% increase from previous estimates of 60,000 diagnoses annually.
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