How much do you know about Parkinson’s disease?

There are one million people in the United States living with Parkinson’s disease and 60,000 more are newly diagnosed each year.

The Parkinson’s Foundation is promoting the #KnowMorePD campaign to spread awareness about Parkinson’s disease.

April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month.

The Parkinson’s Foundation provides free resources to make life better for those living with Parkinson’s disease. This includes 110,000 Veterans who are diagnosed with this neurological disease, as well as their families, caregivers and loved ones.

VA has partnered with the Parkinson’s Foundation to leverage the strengths of both entities to help Veterans who are diagnosed with the disease live healthier lives. VA operates six Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (PADRECCs) and 51 affiliated Consortium Centers across the country.

The PADRECCs assist Veterans in effectively managing PD and other movement disorders by way of VA pharmacy benefits, physical, occupational and speech therapies, medical equipment, surgical services, and other valuable resources.

For those unable to travel to one of the six sites, there are 51 Consortium Centers that work collaboratively with the PADRECCs to ensure the highest level of care for all Veterans.

Learn more about Parkinson’s

How much do you know about Parkinson’s disease? Take the #KnowMorePD quiz to find out.

Here are some facts about Parkinson’s:

• A slight shaking in a finger, thumb or hand is a sign of Parkinson’s. Other early signs include loss of smell, trouble sleeping, and a change in handwriting, where one’s words are smaller and crowded together. This is known as micrographia.
• People diagnosed with Parkinson’s have both motor and non-motor symptoms.
• 10-15% of the time, Parkinson’s is linked to family genetics.
• Exercise can help slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease.
• A person diagnosed with Parkinson’s may benefit from seeing different specialists. Those include a physical therapist, movement disorder specialist and an occupational therapist.

 Learn more about VA’s Parkinson’s disease resources at https://www.parkinsons.va.gov/patients.asp.

The partnership was facilitated by VHA’s National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships (formerly the Office of Community Engagement).

Lora Hershey is a communications specialist for DCG Communications.