Parkinson’s Disease & End of Life

End-Stage Parkinson’s Disease & Risk of Death It’s hard to think about the tough stuff. The what ifs, the worst-case scenarios, the unknowns. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive condition, which means that it gets worse with time. However, for many people, the worsening is gradual, maybe even imperceptible at times. This affords you many […]

Bringing Parkinson’s awareness to the big screen: John’s story

How John Became an Unlikely Celebrity When John Capone was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) at the young age of 39, he never imagined acting in a movie with A-list celebrities. The news of his diagnosis was tough to handle at first, and he quickly became overwhelmed by depression and anxiety. But this tough […]

Unique Influences on Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms

How Geography, high altitude and cold weather can play a role Through APDA’s Ask the Doctor portal, we receive many questions on a vast array of topics. (Feel free to submit your own question at any time.) Many readers have noted that geographic or seasonal factors seem to impact their Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms and […]

Wearable devices that suppress Parkinson’s disease tremor

Non-Invasive Devices to Suppress Tremors For some people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), medication doses treat their tremor very well. However, for others, medication doses are clearly effective for symptoms of slowness and stiffness, but they are ineffective for their tremor. In these cases, deep brain stimulation (DBS) or focused ultrasound may be suggested to help […]

New laboratory tests for Parkinson’s Disease

Currently, Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis is based on a visual clinical exam, done by a doctor (ideally a neurologist or movement disorder specialist) in their office. This means that motor symptoms such as tremor, stiffness and slowness must be apparent before a diagnosis is made by the neurologist – yet those visible symptoms don’t often […]

Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease: Bryan’s Story

Bryan Hill: Living with Young Onset Parkinson’s Parkinson’s disease (PD) is often thought of as an older person’s disease. But did you know that people in their 30s and 40s can also be diagnosed? It’s called Young or Early Onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD or EOPD) and to raise awareness and shed light on the perspective […]

APDA Salutes Parkinson’s Disease Care Partners

Care Partner Tributes and Stories for Family Caregivers Month November is National Family Caregivers Month — a time to recognize and honor family care partners across the country. We all know how integral care partners are to each Parkinson’s disease (PD) journey and while they should be celebrated year-round, now is a great time to […]

New Treatments for Parkinson’s Disease

Exploring seven recently approved Parkinson’s treatments Update: View our updated post of new Parkinson’s treatments in the clinical trial pipeline for 2023 and 2024 Remarkably, in the last five years, seven new medications have been approved for the treatment of the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), with two approved in 2020. That’s exciting progress! […]

Highlights from the Movement Disorder Society Virtual Congress 2021

  Every year the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) holds a conference and every year APDA is there, learning about the newest research and sharing our resources with the wider Parkinson’s disease (PD) community. The MDS Congress is the preeminent gathering of medical professionals from around the world who are dedicated to PD […]