Parkinson's disease

Over 1 million Americans suffer from Parkinson's disease (PD). More than 60,000 patients are newly diagnosed each year. Although PD typically strikes individuals at about 60 years of age, in some cases PD begins earlier in life.

The first sign of PD is usually subtle fatigue, discomfort, or shakiness. With advancing disease, memory lapses, depression and a "masked" or expressionless face become common. Additional symptoms include trembling, stiff/sore muscles, loss of spontaneous movement, difficulty swallowing and impaired coordination.

PD is caused by a loss of brain cells (neurons) in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra. Normally, these neurons produce "dopamine," an essential chemical messenger in the brain. Once damaged, these neurons stop producing dopamine and compromise the brain's ability to control movement.

There is no way to prevent or cure PD. The most widely used drug — levodopa — allows neurons to make new dopamine. However, the drug may cause side effects and over time loses effectiveness.

But we're making progress. Examples of the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center's initiatives to fight against PD include:

• Biomarker Discovery.  Good biomarkers will help us detect and monitor PD, as well as assess the effectiveness of emerging treatments. A major new program to discover and validate PD biomarkers is well underway at the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center. For a description of the Center's important Biomarkers Discovery program, click here.

• Drug discovery.  Our drug discovery laboratory is actively developing drug-like compounds to help accelerate the development of new PD treatments. For details of our drug discovery program, click here.

• Understanding the disease.  Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center scientists are working to identify genetic and environmental factors that may trigger PD. Such understanding is crucial to the development of patient treatments that target the causes of disease.

The Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center is dedicated to accelerating the discovery of effective treatments and cures for Parkinson's disease. For information about our many important initiatives and how to support our approach, click here. For information about coping with Parkinson's, the following websites may of interest:  The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation