By Staff
special to The Star
Nov. 19, 2003
The Meridian Parkinson Support Group will meet Thursday at 6 p.m. at Silverleaf Manor, 4555 35th Ave.
Guest speaker will be Carla Cothran, nurse coordinator of the American Parkinson's Disease Association Information and Referral Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive disease of the nervous system. There are about 1.2 million Parkinson's patients in the United States and Canada. The peak onset is age 60.
Parkinson's affects 1 percent of people 60 and older and 2 percent of people 70 and older.
However, Parkinson's is not just a disease of middle or old age: 15 percent of Parkinson's patients are age 50 or less and 10 percent are age 40 or less.
Parkinson's progresses from diagnosis to a major disability over a 10- to 20-year period.
The public is invited to attend the meeting. For information, call Virginia Rivers at 482-7628. Wade R. Lindemann serves as president of the Meridian Parkinson Support Group.