Parkinson's Disease

The most common cause of Parkinson's disease is the degeneration of the dopamine producing cells in the brainstem.    The cause of this degeneration is unknown in the majority cases, however, hereditary cases are teaching us that certain abnormal genes and their protein products can lead to cell stress and death.

The patient with Parkinson's disease will often complain of poor balance, shaking and difficulty with writing, buttoning or using utensils.  Family members will notice how slow they walk, the lack of expression on their faces and of course the tremor.

The treatment of Parkinson’s is at this point restricted to helping the symptoms.  Medications are the first line of therapy, with levodopa and dopamine agonists as the most commonly prescribed drugs.  Implantable brain stimulators for patients with intolerable side effects to the medications can be used. 

Parkinson’s disease however is among the neurodegenerative diseases.  No treatment can reverse the underlying pathology of the dying dopamine cells. 

We are conducting important studies and we need participants to partner in our efforts to bring better treatments for this disease.