Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects approximately one million people in the U.S. and yet, so much about it is still misunderstood.
That’s why we’re inviting you to test your knowledge below in our fact or fiction quiz. Click each statement (careful, some are fiction!) to uncover truth and understand more about this chronic disorder.
This article in the “Washington Post” describes four symptoms that can occur a decade or more before the classic movement symptoms of Parkinson’s. The four symptoms are loss of sense of smell, acting out dreams, constipation, and postural low blood pressure. The author notes that this early stage of Parkinson’s is known as the prodromal phase.
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The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is collecting data from thousands of volunteers to learn more about the disease’s origins to lead to new treatments
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An article in the Washington Post shares four tips that may reduce your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease: drink caffeinated coffee or tea; be careful about dry-cleaning (if the cleaner uses PCE); avoid pesticides (switch to organic produce; wash your produce); and use a water filter (especially if there are golf courses in your area or if you use well water).
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DBS is a technique developed in the 1980s and 1990s in which a surgeon inserts electrodes deep into areas of the brain that are affected by Parkinson’s, then connects them to a small, battery-powered device implanted in the chest that sends electrical pulses back to the brain. The stimulation helps modulate the electrical activity in the targeted brain area, reducing abnormal brain signals and, thus, symptoms. Krehbiel reached out to a neurologist who was conducting research on DBS: Helen Brontë-Stewart, a professor of neurology and neurological sciences who has spent much of her career seeking to understand, measure, and improve the brain’s control of movement in the body.
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