Cathie Baker was 60 years old, heading west on the highway to her job in Seattle.
As oldies played on the radio, her right hand, which was holding the wheel, suddenly jerked.
The jolt, which ended as quickly as it came, caught her off guard.
But she knew what it was.
I remember thinking,I cant believe this is happening, says Baker, now 71.
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What is Parkinson’s disease?
What causes Parkinson’s disease?
Who is at risk for Parkinson’s disease?
How is Parkinson’s disease treated?
He never saw a doctor to treat his illness, and his decline was painful to watch.
But I never thought I would get it.
I never even thought about it until I was driving and my hand started tremoring.
A few days later, Baker had tremors in her right thumb.
She went to her family doctor, who seemed not to take it seriously.
But she knew something was wrong.
Baker answered yes to the ones about a shuffling gait,balance problems,constipationand sleep disturbances.
So the doctor said she needed to see a neurologist.
The neurologist confirmed Baker was in the early stages of Parkinsons disease.
What is Parkinsons disease?
The damage progresses over time.
Its different from normal aging.
There is no simple blood test or imaging to diagnose Parkinsons.
For now, doctors look for physical signs and ask questions about common symptoms.
Tremor is a common early sign of Parkinsons, although about 25 percent of patients dont experience tremors.
Doctors also look for slowed movements, muscle stiffness, posture or speech changes .
What causes Parkinsons disease?
Researchers havent completely figured out all that happens in the brain to cause Parkinsons.
But they know that affected brain cells accumulate too much of the protein alpha-synuclein.
This clump of excess protein is called a Lewy body.
The protein itself is normal and found in all healthy brains usually at synapses, the connections between neurons.
It forms an aggregation that sits in the cell and, we think, causes damage to that cell.
