Video Transcript:
Important Facts About Parkinson's Disease
- Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder.
It first presents with problems of movement.
- The four major motor problems related to this disease
are tremor, slow movements, stiffness of arms, legs and
trunk, and problems of balance/tendency to fall.
- An estimated 7 to 10 million people worldwide are living
with Parkinson's disease and as many as 1 million of them
are Americans.
- This is more than the combined number of people diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig's
disease.
- Moreover, according to the report from the Center of
Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health
Statistics, complications of Parkinson's disease are the
14th major cause of death in the United States. Approximately
60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease
each year - this number does not reflect the thousands of
cases that go undetected.
- Incidence of Parkinson's increases with age but an estimated
4% of people with Parkinson's are diagnosed before the age
of 50.
- Men are one and a half times more likely to have Parkinson's
than women. Also, whites are more likely to get Parkinson's
than African-Americans or Asians.
Monetary Value of Parkinson's Disease
- The combined direct and indirect cost of Parkinson's
is estimated to be $25 billion per year in the United States
alone.
- Medication costs for an individual person with Parkinson's
disease average $2,500 a year and therapeutic surgery can
cost up to $100,000 dollars per patient.
This disorder is chronic and worsens over time and it has
no cure. Unfortunate are the people that are suffering from
this type of disease. It is best to face it with a limitless
positive view in lif
