The Mayo team began with the oldest family member present, and worked their way across the roll of paper down to the youngest, charting the family tree. They took blood samples and did medical exams. They talked to the family about people who'd passed away. Their studies brought to light an undeniable family connection. The Mayo study documented this pattern of hereditary transfer across four generations.
Ongoing research continues to follow the family today.
New perspective on Parkinson's This stunning and unexpected information brought about an entirely different perspective on parkinsonism, for the physicians and for the family. In the early 1900s, before medicine and the family knew as much about the diseaseas they do now, there were many different ideas about its origins. Some believed it was contagious, or that agricultural life brought it about. Some relatives thought if they could get away, they'd be free of it. Like a Greek tragedy, they packed up and left, cutting off contact with the remaining family in Iowa.