We wanted to provide a photo of Dr. James Parkinson; however, it is said that no such photo exists today. Instead, this is a photo of his home in London.

Introduction

This section will provide a short history of the identification of Parkinson's disease, its differentiation from other parkinsonian conditions, definitions of those and related terms, and a short discussion of possible causes for parkinsonian diseases.

History

Dr. James Parkinson, a practitioner of general medicine in London, is credited with the first complete description of the symptoms and progression of the disease that later was named for him. In his 1817 "Essay on the Shaking Palsy," he described six patients who had what appeared to be one condition characterized by symptoms such as rigidity, tremor (primarily at rest), an accelerated gait, and stooped posture. Parkinson documented the progression of the disease with an accuracy that remains valid today.