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Introduction

Depictions suggest the symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) can be found in ancient Egyptian hieroglyph that goes back more than 4,000 years. The Greeks, Romans, and even the Bible mention conditions that can best be described as Parkinsonism. Yet it was not until 1817 that this mysterious disorder of the nervous system achieved a distinctive and memorable description that has stood the test of time. In a short and succinct treatise entitled "On the Shaking Palsy," James Parkinson presented in simple terms the hallmarks of this disabling condition that involved "involuntary tremulous motion, with lessened muscular power, in parts not in action and even when supported with a propensity to bend the trunk forward and to pass from walking to a running pace, the senses and intellect being uninjured."(Biziere et al., 1997)

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This fact sheet was last updated on 04-07-2009.