The past and present of Parkinson's

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by tremor, hypokinesia, rigidity and postural instability, which occurs mostly in middle-aged and elderly people.

Yet Parkinson’s is not a new disease. Ancient Egyptian papyri dating back to the 12th century B.C. record an emperor who could not control his drooling (a symptom of late Parkinson’s); ancient Indian Ayurvedic texts mention a progressive tremor and loss of activity; Leonardo da Vinci observed that some people’s “limbs were constantly trembling, but they could not control it.” Scholars agree that the 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes suffered from Parkinson’s.

However, it was not until 1817 that James Parkinson gave the first complete clinical description of the disease in his An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, after which the disease was named "Parkinson's".

As time goes by, people's understanding of Parkinson's disease becomes clearer.

About 100 years ago, German neuropathologist Frederick Lewy first discovered Lewy bodies, a hallmark of Parkinson's disease.

About 50 years ago, levodopa therapy opened a new era in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, and the dopamine neurotransmitter that guides levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease also won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

About 30 years ago, Professor Alim Louis Benebid of France treated Parkinson's disease through deep brain stimulation (brain pacemaker) surgery.

More than 20 years ago, the first Parkinson's disease pathogenic gene, α-synuclein, was reported, and it was proven that this protein is the core pathogenic link in the onset of Parkinson's disease.

Eleven years ago, the Movement Disorders Society (MDS) published evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Seven years ago, MDS introduced new diagnostic criteria for Parkinson's disease.

The "China eParkinson-White Alliance" established by my country's National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases has currently covered more than 20 provinces and more than 100 hospitals across the country.