HealthInfo Aoraki-South Canterbury
Parkinson disease
Parkinson disease is a condition of the nervous system. It affects 1% of people over 60, but it can affect younger people as well.
In Parkinson disease, the cells in the brain that produce the chemical dopamine are destroyed. Dopamine helps with quick, coordinated movement. When dopamine is reduced, movements can become slow and stiff.
Parkinson disease causes shaking or tremor, and stiffness. It can also make it hard to start movements like walking. Later in the disease it can cause depression and dementia. If you develop a tremor or difficulty with movement, you should see your doctor.
There's no cure for Parkinson disease. The disease is a slowly progressive one, meaning that it takes a long time from diagnosis to the more severe symptoms developing. There's medication that you can take that can help improve movement difficulties. As this is a progressive disease these medicines will eventually stop helping, so doctors often prefer to wait until the symptoms are more problematic before starting them (to get the greatest benefit from their use before they stop working). It's also important to stay active. This helps to keep your muscles strong and improves your balance.
Eating well and maintaining a healthy weight is important when you have Parkinson disease. It's common for people with Parkinson disease to lose weight but some people gain weight. Changes in weight can affect your health and wellbeing.
Being underweight means you can lose muscle, bone mass and strength. It can also make you more prone to infection. Being overweight raises your risk of heart disease and puts stress on your joints. If you're struggling to maintain a healthy weight ask your doctor for a referral to a dietitian.
Conditions related to Parkinson disease
Some less common conditions can seem very like Parkinson disease, but also have differences. As a group, they are called Parkinsonism conditions. They include:
Certain medications that affect the brain and dopamine levels can also cause parkinsonism.
Who can help?
Physiotherapists
It's important to stay active if you have Parkinson disease. A physiotherapist can help you with an exercise plan to maintain movement, muscle strength and balance. The Parkinson's Society of South Canterbury offers exercise classes at 10 am at St Paul's Church, 349 Wai-iti Rd, Timaru every Friday and runs a gym session at Performance Training, 1 Heaton St, Timaru every Thursday at 10 am.
Or you could see a private physiotherapist with an interest in Parkinson disease.
Other health professionals
Dietitians, occupational therapists and speech-language therapists can all help people with Parkinson disease.
Support organisations
- The Parkinson's Society of South Canterbury
The Parkinson's Society offers professional support, information and education for people with, and those providing care for people with Parkinson disease. It holds education, entertainment and catch up events on the first Monday of each month from 1.30 to 3 pm in Blind Low Vision NZ's rooms at 63 Grey Rd, Timaru. It runs exercise classes at 10 am every Friday morning at St Paul's Church, 349 Wai-iti Rd, Timaru. The first Friday of the month is with a community physiotherapist. The third Friday is a partner’s discussion group. The fourth Friday has a visiting speech-language therapist.
- Parkinson's New Zealand
Parkinson's New Zealand provides support, education and information for people living with Parkinson disease, their families, carers and health professionals.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Parkinson's Society
- Parkinson's disease factsheets
Factsheets on a range of topics about Parkinson disease.
- Guide for the new patient
This booklet is for people who have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson disease.
- Parkinson's disease factsheets
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed September 2019. Last updated December 2019.
See also:
Community groups for communication difficulties
Eating well and maintaining a healthy weight, for older adults
Review key: HIPAR-19688
