Neuromuscular diseases like Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease (PD) afflict millions of Americans. However, perhaps Americans are more familiar with the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, because unlike these other diseases individuals afflicted with PD often lead productive lives into old age. Film legend Katharine Hepburn, the boxer Muhammad Ali, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and TV and film actor Michael J. Fox all suffer from Parkinson’s disease. The widely mediacized activities of these individuals keeps the disease in the public spotlight more than other similar illnesses. Yet despite these examples of productive individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, its symptoms and long-term progression can be devastating and debilitating to many who suffer from it.
Parkinson’s Disease changes movement, muscle control and balance in those who suffer from it. This progressive disorder affects between 1 and 1.5 million Americans with 50,000 individuals diagnosed with the disorder annually (Background, 2002, 4). To put this statistic in perspective, the number of people diagnosed with PD is greater than the combined numbers of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s (ALS) and muscular dystrophy. While heredity and as of yet unknown environmental agents are thought to be risk factors associated with PD, aging may be the biggest risk factor. Eighty-five percent of individuals that suffer from PD were diagnosed beyond the age of fifty, and the average age of onset for the disorder is sixty (Background, 2002, 4).
Parkinson’s Disease is not only costly to those who suffer from it but it also costs society an estimated $5.6 billion a year in direct and indirect costs associated with the disease (Background, 2002, 4). Parkinson’s Disease is not only unique in that people afflicted with it have many years of productive living after diagnosed, but, so, too, it is ...