In recognition of James Parkinson's birthday, April 11th is celebrated globally as World Parkinson's Day.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic progressive neurological disorder which affects 6.3 million people worldwide,¹ and 1.2 million in Europe only.²

Parkinson’s disease is caused by a shortage of dopamine producing cells, a substance that is used in the brain to transmit signals.³ Chief symptoms are motor difficulties such as tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia (slowness in movement), and postural instability.⁴ Given the higher incidence of Parkinson’s disease in those aged 65 or older, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease is expected to increase as the population ages.

There is no cure, but a therapy called deep brain stimulation may help improve day-to-day experiences for patients living with Parkinson’s disease a number of other neurological disorders.

Watch the sketch animation above to learn more about how DBS works.

You can also find additional information by accessing the press kit section on the left hand side.

1 European Parkinson’s Disease Association. What is Parkinson’s disease? https://www.epda.eu.com/en/parkinsons/in-depth/parkinsonsdisease/ Date accessed on 25 July 2014.

2 European Brain Council. Parkinson’s disease Fact Sheet 2011. https://www.europeanbraincouncil.org/pdfs/Documents/Parkinson's%20fact%20sheet%20July%202011.pdf Date accessed 25 July 2014.

3 Nill KR. Glossary of Biotechnology Terms, Fourth Edition. Taylor & Francis 2006. p225.

4 Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. Primary Motor Symptoms. https://www.pdf.org/symptoms_primary Date accessed 25 July 2014.