What is the history of Parkinson's?

What is the history of Parkinson's?

Neal Hermanowicz (Director of the Movement Disorders Program) gives expert video advice on: What are some of the other names for Parkinson's?; Who is at most risk for getting Parkinson's? and more...

It was first identified as a separate entity, distinct from, say Multiple Sclerosis or Lou Gerhig's disease by James Parkinson when he wrote that initial monograph published in 1817. And actually it wasn't until the mid 1800s that credit was given to Dr. Parkinson by a French neurologist by the name of Charcot, who was one of the giants of modern neurology, one of the people who created modern neurology and did give credit due back to James Parkinson. It didn't really get a lot of attention when it was published in 1817. But Parkinson's contribution was again sort of teasing us away from these other neurological disorders because prior to that time people sort of thought of MS or ALS and Parkinson's as all being kind of the same thing and not a discreet entity. Over the years, the pathology has been identified, meaning the brain changes that are associated with Parkinson's disease. These have been identified almost 100 years ago. The brain chemical abnormality, at least one of the central chemical abnormalities, a dopamine deficiency was identified in 1959, which really launched the modern area of treatment of Parkinson's disease by using medications.