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Common Names for Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a chronic and degenerative disease of the nervous system. Because the disease causes nerve cells in a particular part of the brain to degenerate, the patient's body movement is affected.

  1. Parkinson's Disease

    • Parkinson's disease takes it name from James Parkinson, the English physician who in 1817 first described the effects of the disease on the human body.

    Shaking Palsy

    • Because one of the main symptoms of Parkinson's disease is a pronounced tremor, the illness is sometimes called shaking palsy.

    Paralysis Agitans

    • "Paralysis agitans" is Latin for shaking palsy and serves as the medical terminology for the disease, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

    Parkinsonism

    • A person who displays the symptoms of Parkinson's disease is said to have parkinsonism. However, not all who display parkinsonism end up being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism can also be caused by brain inflammation, tumor or injury, or stroke, drugs or toxins, according to Merck Manuals Online Medical Library.

    Primary Parkinsonism

    • Parkinson's disease is sometimes called primary parkinsonism and idiopathic Parkinson's disease, according to the website MedicineNet. The term idiopathic refers to the fact that there is no known cause for the illness.

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