Thursday, Apr 26 2012, 4:34 pm

What is Parkinsons disease?

According to the Parkinsons Disease Foundation, Parkinsons is a chronic and progressive movement disorder that involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Major symptoms are tremor, rigidity, slowness and lack of balance. Some of the other symptoms are depression, emotional changes, pain, memory loss, problems swallowing and chewing, digestive issues, sleep disturbances, fatigue and weight loss.

More information

The monthly Parkinsons Support Group meets at the Neal Senior Center, 100 T.R. Harris Drive, Shelby, at 1:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month. Contact Doug Murphy at 704-487-8822 and dmurphy2@carolina.rr.com.

The quarterly Parkinsons Support Group will meet at 6 p.m. May 22 at the Life Enrichment Center, 110 Life Enrichment Blvd., Shelby. The program will be about the importance of exercise. For more information, call 704-484-0405.

Online

Parkinsons Disease Foundation: http://www.pdf.org/, 1-800-457-6676

Parkinson Association of the Carolinas: http://www.parkinsonassociation.org, 1-866-903-7275

Mention Parkinsons and most people think of tremors, said Doug Murphy, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2009.

Continued here:
Parkinson's is 'a daily struggle'