Healthy Considerations

Often thought of as an age-related illness reserved for the elderly, many people are surprised to hear that Parkinson’s disease can strike the young as well. It’s estimated that Parkinson’s affects about one percent of the population over the age of 50, although some studies bump this figure to one percent of people over the age of 65, and two percent over the age of 70. On the lower end, the Journal of Family Medicine suggests as high as five percent of Parkinson’s cases have been diagnosed in people under the age of 40. “The average age of onset is 60 years of age, although 5% of patients are under age 40,” the Journal’s Matthew Stern has written. “The precise cause of Parkinson’s disease is not yet clear, but the disease … Read entire article »