Parkinson's Disease Blog

My sister is 37 and has been having trouble with her walking for some time. We thought it was a trapped nerve but now the doctor says it is Parkinson’s. I can’t believe it – surely Parkinson’s is an old person’s disease?

At 37 your sister is certainly young to get Parkinson’s, but it is by no means unheard of at that age. Michael J. Fox, the Canadian TV and film actor was only 30 when he was diagnosed and all neurologists will have seen people with Parkinson’s in their thirties and even younger. The illness is certainly much more common in elderly people but can affect those in relative youth. It is estimated that 1 in 20 of those diagnosed are under the age of 40.

Recently we visited an old friend who has been told she has Parkinson’s. She keeps asking herself ‘Why me?’ and wondering if there is anything she could have done to cause it. We reassured her that it was not her fault. Were we right to do so?

You were quite right to reassure her. It is natural to want an explanation for an illness and common for some people, particularly if they are a bit depressed, to be tempted to blame themselves. Bad habits certainly do not cause Parkinson’s! Although we cannot yet answer the ‘Why me?’ question, nobody believes that the cause or causes of Parkinson’s will turn out to be something under the control of those who get it. If your friend continues to blame herself, it would be worth you and her doctor considering whether or not she is depressed.

I am 68 and have always looked after myself. I do not smoke or drink to excess but now I am having all kinds of difficulties and the doctors have diagnosed Parkinson’s. Why me?

As stated elsewhere in this book, the cause of Parkinson’s is unknown and ‘Why me?’ is the crucial question for researchers to answer. Alcohol does not appear to be involved to any extent and the question of smoking is uncertain (see the answer to the next question). You are too young to have been involved in the epidemics of sleeping sickness (encephalitis lethargica) that were around at the time of World War I and which caused a special kind of Parkinson’s. There has recently been some evidence that the body’s inherited ability to turn harmful chemicals into harmless substances may be somewhat reduced in people who get Parkinson’s, but this is an area for future research rather than an established fact at present.