page_title: Parkinson's disease
section_title: Notable cases
hierarchical_section_title: Parkinson's disease / Society and culture / Notable cases
caption_attribution_description: DAVOS/SWITZERLAND, 28JAN06 - FLTR: Muhammad Ali, Former Heavyweight-Boxing Champion, Greatest of All Time (GOAT), USA, Shabana Azmi, Actress and Social Activist, India, Michael Douglas, Director, Producer and Actor, USA and Gilberto Gil, Minister of Culture of Brazil captured at the Presentation of the Crystal Awards at the Annual Meeting 2006 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 28, 2006.
context_page_description: Parkinson's disease, or simply Parkinson's is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly and, as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms become more common. The most obvious early symptoms are tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking, but cognitive and behavioral problems may also occur. Parkinson's disease dementia becomes common in the advanced stages of the disease. Depression and anxiety are also common, occurring in more than a third of people with PD. Other symptoms include sensory, sleep, and emotional problems. The main motor symptoms are collectively called "parkinsonism", or a "parkinsonian syndrome".
  While the cause of PD is unknown, it is believed to involve both inherited and environmental factors. Those with a family member affected are more likely to get the disease themselves. There is also an increased risk in people exposed to certain pesticides and among those who have had prior head injuries, while there is a reduced risk in tobacco smokers and coffee or tea drinkers.
context_section_description: Actor Michael J. Fox has PD and has greatly increased the public awareness of the disease. After diagnosis, Fox embraced his Parkinson's in television roles, sometimes acting without medication, in order to further illustrate the effects of the condition. He has written two autobiographies in which his fight against the disease plays a major role, and appeared before the United States Congress without medication to illustrate the effects of the disease. The Michael J. Fox Foundation aims to develop a cure for Parkinson's disease. Fox received an honorary doctorate in medicine from Karolinska Institutet for his contributions to research in Parkinson's disease.
  Professional cyclist and Olympic medalist Davis Phinney, who was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's at age 40, started the Davis Phinney Foundation in 2004 to support Parkinson's research, focusing on quality of life for people with the disease.
  Boxer Muhammad Ali showed signs of Parkinson's when he was 38, but was not diagnosed until he was 42, and has been called the "World's most famous Parkinson's patient". Whether he had PD or parkinsonism related to boxing is unresolved.
caption: Muhammad Ali at the World Economic Forum in Davos, at the age of 64. He had shown signs of parkinsonism from the age of 38 until his death.
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