Parkinson's Disease & Other Movement Disorders
Movement disorders are defined as neurologic syndromes in which there is either an excess of movement (commonly known as hyperkinesia, dyskinesia, and abnormal involuntary movement) or a lack of voluntary and automatic movements unrelated to weakness or spasticity. These complex disorders may or may not have genetic, environmental, infectious, metabolic, nutritional, toxicological, and vascular factors contributing to their cause.
One of the most common movement disorders is Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD is a disorder of the nervous system that gets worse over time. As nerve cells (neurons) in parts of the brain weaken, are damaged, or die, people may begin to notice problems with movement, tremors, stiffness in the limbs or the trunk of the body, or impaired balance. As symptoms progress, people may have difficulty walking, talking or completing other simple tasks. However, not everyone with one or more of these symptoms has PD, as the symptoms appear in other diseases as well.
To learn more about Parkinson’s disease and other types of movement disorders, please visit the list on the left. There you will find detailed information about the various diagnoses and their causes and risk factors, as well as prevention, screening and treatment options.