Parkinson's Disease

Mark R. Cookson , Ph.D., Chief

Parkinson's disease is one of the major age-related neurodegenerative disorders and is characterized by the progressive loss of neurons over time. Some of the major symptoms of Parkinson's relate to the ability of the patient to initiate or stop movement and these symptoms are related to loss of neurons that express the neurotransmitter dopamine in a region of the brain called the substantia nigra, although other brain regions are also affected throughout the disease progression.