Parkinson's disease is a chronic neurological condition that affects a significant number of people world-wide. The condition was named after Dr James Parkinson, who first identified it in 1817 and affects more people than multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig's disease combined.

Parkinson's disease is characterized by degeneration of neurons in the region of the brain that controls muscle movement (the basal ganglia and the extra pyramidal area). When functioning normally, these neurons produce a vital brain chemical known as dopamine. This shortage is the cause of the motor and muscular deficits.

Dopamine is produced and stored in a small, pigmented group of nerve cells in the upper brainstem called the substantia nigra. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) critical to relaying brain messages that control both balance and movement. When there isn’t enough dopamine, cells don't signal each other properly and people eventually develop symptoms such as:

• resting tremor
• slowness of movement
• rigidity and instability in walking
• depression
• sleep disturbances