What to know about Parkinson's disease after Ozzy Osbourne's death
Here's what to know about the disease:
What is Parkinson's?
Parkinson's is a neurologic disease that robs people of control over their movements. It typically starts with tremors and is characterized by slow movement, a shuffling gait, stiff limbs, balance problems and slurred speech.
Who gets it?
About 1 million Americans are living with Parkinson's, and 10 million people worldwide, the Parkinson's Foundation. estimates. It usually appears after age 60, although sometimes it can develop before age 50.
What causes Parkinson's?
The exact cause isn't known, but Parkinson's develops when cells that produce one of the brain's chemical messengers, called dopamine, begin to deteriorate and die.
Dopamine transports signals to parts of the brain that control movement. Parkinson's symptoms appear after enough dopamine-producing cells die that there's too little of this neurotransmitter in the brain.
According to the foundation, most experts believe genetic and environmental factors are behind the disease. Dozens of gene mutations linked to Parkinson's have been discovered and genetics account for 10% to 15% of all cases. Other factors suspected of increasing the risk include head injuries, exposure to pesticides and herbicides and where you live.
Is there a cure?
There is no cure but there are treatments, including medications that affect dopamine levels and a surgically implanted tremor-blocking device. Patients also can benefit from physical and occupational therapy.
Wednesdays
Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture.
What's the prognosis?
Symptoms worsen over time, usually slowly. The severity of symptoms and how quickly they progress varies widely between patients. In advanced cases, people may be unable to walk or care for themselves. They also can suffer from depression as well as memory and thinking problems.
While Parkinson's itself isn't considered fatal, people can die from complications of the disease, including lung problems as muscle weakness impedes the ability to cough and to swallow.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. senior forced to pay $10,500 a month for private care due to long-term bed shortages, family says
Unable to get in-home care and with a months-long wait for publicly subsidized bed, Linda Carriere and her mom, both Richmond residents, decided to put her mom's husband into a private facility at $10,500 a month. 'We investigated but that was pretty much the cheapest. We called another one that was $15,000 a month. Called another one that was $12,000 a month. We said, 'OK, we have no other option',' said Carriere. The wait for a publicly funded bed took another three months. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'Not every senior is wealthy. These aren't wealthy seniors, either. They're very much dipping into savings.' Carriere is speaking out after B.C.'s seniors advocate, Dan Levitt, released a report that said the province faces a 2,000-bed shortage in long-term care and would need to build 16,000 new beds by 2036 to meet increasing demand. His report also found that the government has only completed 380 of the 3,315 new long-term care beds it promised in 2020 and that the number of seniors languishing on waiting lists for publicly subsidized long-term care has increased by 200 per cent from 2,381 in 2016 to 7,212 in 2025. 'We simply have not built enough long-term care where seniors are living. So, because of that issue, they are having to leave the communities where they live, where their families and friends are, where their neighbourhoods are, and having to move somewhere else on a temporary basis,' said Levitt. 'We really want to see a government invest in long-term care living environments that are close to where people live, so that seniors can age in the communities where they have roots and where their family members can visit them.' The lack of long-term care beds in B.C. is forcing families to spends tens of thousands of dollars on private care as waiting lists for publicly subsidized facilities continue to grow and the NDP government struggles to keep the promise they made in 2020 to greatly expand old-age services. Carriere said she spent months trying to find public care options for her mother's spouse, who didn't want to be named. He has Parkinson's and is legally blind. Carriere told Postmedia that her mother has been his primary caregiver up until recently but is in her 80s and could no longer provide the level of support that he needs. Additionally, his health declined rapidly and he is no longer able to walk or take care of himself. 'My mom, being the sole caregiver for him, and she's in her 80s, was really finding it really, really hard to manage,' said Carriere. 'He went from walking and being able to take care of himself to needing a wheelchair full time and they live in a townhouse with stairs.' After a period of respite care through Vancouver Coastal Health, the family was able to obtain 24-7 live-in caregivers through the health authority but problems began to arise due to the lack of bathroom or shower facilities on the main floor of the townhouse and the fact there is only one bathroom in the whole home that is wheelchair accessible. What brought the situation to a head, however, was the fact that Carriere's mom has a dog and, under rules set by the health authority, any pets have to be cordoned off while care workers are present. This is not possible when the care workers are at the home 24-7, says Carriere. 'The caseworker had said to me, 'Well, can you take the dog.' I'm like, 'No, my mom's not going to live without her dog,'' she said. 'Hard no on that. They then asked me if we can take my mom's spouse and I was like, 'No, my 92-year-old dad lives with me who also has care aides coming and we don't have another bedroom downstairs.'' Carriere said that impasse forced her mom to put her husband into the private facility while he waited for a publicly subsidized space to open up. After three to four months, and a cost to the family of between $31,000 and $42,000, a space opened up at Purdy Pavilion at UBC but there was only a two day move-in window, forcing Carriere and her mom to scramble to get him there. Initially put into a room with three others, Carriere said they were eventually able to get her mom's husband moved into a room with two others but there have still been challenges with getting his personal belongings into the room. She said the family has been told it will take four years to get her mom's husband into the facility of his choice, which is Rosewood Manor in Richmond. Neither the Ministry of Health or Vancouver Coastal Health responded to questions from Postmedia about how the waiting list is handled for long-term care or what the government's response is to families having to pay tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket because of a lack of public care facilities. 'I think it's critically important that we act now, because it's going to take us a decade to roll out all these new long term care beds, and I think if we don't do this, it's going to put the pressure on the hospital system and also on the health-care workforce, because people won't be able to do their jobs effectively,' said Levitt.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Building pharmaceutical sector strength
Manitoba's bioscience industry is inking collaboration commitments with other provinces as U.S. researchers increasingly look to move operations to Canada. Bioscience Association Manitoba signed a memorandum of understanding with BIOQuebec, its Quebec counterpart, in June. BAM is aiming for two more such agreements before Christmas. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Andrea Ladouceur, president of Bioscience Association Manitoba, at the group's Smart Park office on the University of Manitoba's Fort Garry campus. 'They are bigger provinces, they have more resources dedicated to the sector, they are more globally known,' said Andrea Ladouceur, BAM president. 'For Manitoba to be amongst those in a co-ordinated way, under an MOU, to help us collaborate — that's the fastest, most effective approach to bringing more opportunities to Manitoba.' Already, the pharmaceutical sector accounts for nearly seven per cent of Manitoba's GDP. Pfizer, Bausch Health and Dynacare have bases in the province. Ladouceur came into her role in January 2024; she's been seeking ways to grow interprovincial collaboration since. The election of U.S. President Donald Trump and resulting trade war tensions have helped bolster collaborative sentiment, she said. She's clocked a 'marked increase' in American companies enquiring about Manitoba. However, most queries are likely directed to larger provinces as U.S. research funds get slashed, she surmised. BIOQuebec confirmed it's fielded at least a dozen calls from Americans asking about relocating to the province since late spring. Life Sciences Ontario has discussed with a California-based business. The MOU with BIOQuebec — and, potentially soon, others — is meant to 'fill in the gaps in our ecosystem,' Ladouceur said. For example, if a Manitoba company needs a manufacturer for medicine it's creating, BAM might direct them to a BIOQuebec member. Quebec has also become 'the epicentre' of service providers able to find international manufacturers and ingredient makers that Canadian pharmaceutical companies need, Ladouceur said. She's hoping if U.S. companies land in Quebec, they'll be directed to Manitoba firms. BAM counts more than 200 members, including around 10 shared with BIOQuebec's pool of at least 300. Exposure to Manitoba might encourage Quebec companies to expand to the keystone province, Ladouceur said. 'This really is a limitless sector,' she added. 'There's more than enough for everybody.' BIOQuebec's interest in Manitoba stems from the province's 'dynamism,' said Benoît Larose, the organization's chief executive. 'In our experience, the smaller ecosystems are more willing to do business abroad,' he said. 'We don't have to convince them to do things with us — they want to do things with us.' BIOQuebec signed a memorandum of understanding with Life Sciences Ontario in March. Threats from the United States led to the MOUs, Larose said, noting BIOQuebec already had relationships with both associations. '(It) was a signal that we wanted to send to our own members,' he said. 'We should all be looking at the resources within Canada before considering doing business elsewhere. 'The 'elbows-up' attitude, that's what we decided to do.' Both Larose and Ladouceur noted U.S. tariffs and funding cuts have locked their members in uncertainty. Manitoba businesses import active pharmaceutical ingredients from the U.S. and export finished products south of the border. (Manitoba exported $211 million worth of packaged medicine in 2025's first quarter, a 70.5 per cent drop from the prior year. The Manitoba Bureau of Statistics pointed to a decline in U.S. imports.) Collaboration between provincial bioscience associations started growing pre-COVID-19 pandemic, said Jason Field, president of Life Sciences Ontario. The groups sit on the National Biotech Accord. Closeness emerged around 2017, when Ottawa sought to reform the patented medicine prices review board and drew industry pushback. It grew during the COVID-19 pandemic — while eyes were on pharmaceutical makers — and has continued during the Trump administration's latest reign, Field said. 'It's a real opportunity for Canada to differentiate itself on a global stage and be really competitive,' Field said. 'But … we have to make this an attractive business environment.' There's a gap in funding for bioscience companies who've reached the $2 million to $10 million range, and regulatory bodies tasked with approving Canadian health products have lacked speed, he asserted. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Inventions often start in Canada and end up commercialized by other countries, said Mary Argent-Katwala, senior director of stakeholder engagement for the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization. 'If a company left Vancouver, it's not that they're necessarily going to another province. They're probably going to Boston or San Diego,' Argent-Katwala said. OBIO is considering signing MOUs with peers in other provinces, Argent-Katwala added. Bioscience Association Manitoba aims to ink collaboration agreements across Canada. Such deals, including with BIOQuebec, could lead to more joint events and trade missions. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
What we know about a new health data tracking system being announced by White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's planned announcement Wednesday of a new private health tracking system that would make it easier for patients to access their health records and monitor their wellness is raising a host of privacy concerns. The collaboration between the federal government and Big Tech would allow patients to more seamlessly track and share their medical records or data among doctors, hospital systems and health apps, the administration and participating companies say. More details of the system are expected to be announced during a White House event dubbed 'Making Health Technology Great Again' later Wednesday. Here's how it would work The system would be maintained by the federal government through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Patients will need to opt in to have their medical records and data shared, which CMS says will be kept secure. Once a patient is in the system, their information could be shared across apps or health systems that have joined the initiative. So, for example, the Apple Health app on your iPhone that tracks your daily step count or your sleep could access lab results from your doctor's office. Putting that information together, the Trump administration says, will offer a fuller picture of your health. The program could start next year The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that 60 companies have signed on to work with the system and that they have pledged to 'deliver results to the American people in the first quarter of 2026.' Patient privacy is a top concern Patient advocates and ethicists say many may worry about how their health information – something Americans have long carefully guarded – could be used in ways that they don't want or expect. 'There are enormous ethical and legal concerns,' said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor who specializes in public health. 'Patients across America should be very worried that their medical records are going to be used in ways that harm them and their families.' Also, digital privacy advocates say are skeptical that patients will be able to count on their data being stored securely. 'This scheme is an open door for the further use and monetization of sensitive and personal health information,' said Jeffrey Chester at the Center for Digital Democracy.
