Red tulips are used as a symbol for Parkinson’s awareness.

ALPENA — April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month. The month was chosen because James Parkinson, who first identified the symptoms, has a birthday in April.

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease. The cause is unknown, and although there is presently no cure, treatment options are available, such as medication and surgery to manage its symptoms.

Parkinson’s involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called substantia nigra. Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination. As PD progresses, the amount of dopamine produced in the brain decreases, leaving a person unable to control movement normally. The specific group of symptoms that an individual experiences varies from person to person.

Primary motor signs of Parkinson’s disease include tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face. Other signs are bradykinesia or slowness of movement, rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk, postural instability or impaired balance and coordination. Some of the nonmotor symptoms are hallucinations, delusions, cognitive changes, sleep disorders, mood disorders, constipation, depression, vision changes, and loss of smell.

Incidence of Parkinson’s increases with age; the average age of disease onset is 58. Men are one-and-a-half times more likely to have Parkinson’s than women. As many as one million Americans live with PD, and 30,000 people in Michigan currently have PD. It is estimated that within 13 years, that number will climb to 70,000.

Many research articles document improvement in balance, confidence, quality of life and reduced fall rates with persons with Parkinson’s disease when they are participating in an exercise program. Exercise needs to be a lifelong habit, and the benefits fade if exercise stops.