Hearing the words Parkinson’s disease or parkinsonism can feel overwhelming. You may have questions about what the diagnosis means, what caused your symptoms, what to expect next, and whether treatment can help. One of the most important things to know is that Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism are not exactly the same thing. Parkinsonism is a broad term used to describe a group of neurological conditions that can cause symptoms similar to those seen in Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson's disease can impact more than just movement. Did you know that the cardiac system can be affected too? How can PD affect the heart? Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) is the drop in blood pressure when standing. Sometimes this can result in fainting. With PD, the signaling system in the heart that help control blood pressure may not be able to send messages to increase blood pressure when there is a drop in blood pressure. C

A recent study looked at how OFF times affect people with PD. OFF times are the periods between medication dosages when your symptoms return or get worse. Most people are familiar with an increase in tremors or worsening of balance, but did you know your non-motor symptoms could get worse too? The study showed that nonmotor symptoms such as fatigue, memory changes, and anxiety can increase during the OFF times. Other sources shared that feelings of dissatisfaction with life a

Fatigue is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease. But what do we do about it? Let's find out. How to fight fatigue Pace yourself. This sounds easy and like common sense, but pacing can be really hard. On days where you are more fatigued than others, try to do 50-75% of what you think you could do. If you leave a little gas left in the tank and take a break, you will be able to keep moving throughout the entire day Exercise. Exercise for fatigue? Yes! Slowly buildi

There was a recent article published from the Nature Journal that redefined freezing of gait. What did they come up with? Let's find out. Check out this video to see what freezing of gait looks like: Freezing of gait (FOG) is a common symptom of PD. In fact, at least 30% of people with PD have FOG! This can frequently lead to falls and subsequent injury. The previous definition was " a brief, episodic absence or marked reduction of forward progression of the feet despite the

Tremors are a common first Parkinson's disease motor symptom that prompts people to see a neurologist. However, not all tremors are the same. Let's review the differences between tremors related to PD and essential tremors. Essential tremor is actually more common than PD. Almost 10 million people in the United States have an essential tremor. Essential tremors are also known as an action tremor, meaning it happens with voluntary movement. So when you try to move to write a c