At What Age Does Parkinson’s Start?

Parkinson’s disease mostly affects adults older than 60. However, that doesn’t mean early onset doesn’t happen.

Unfortunately, Parkinson’s disease has no cure yet. There are promising treatments, like regenerative medicine that may help manage symptoms and slow the progression of this neurodegenerative condition.

At what age should you start looking for Parkinson’s symptoms? Here’s what we currently know about the age of onset.

How Common Is Early-Onset Parkinson’s Disease?

Around 5-10% of Parkinson’s patients develop symptoms before age 50. This can be a terrifying prospect for younger people, especially if Parkinson’s disease runs in the family.

While early onset of this disease is fairly rare, it’s still a possibility. Researchers believe that early-onset Parkinson’s disease stems from inherited genes increasing your risk of developing symptoms.

In short, genetics play a large role in determining if and when Parkinson’s symptoms develop in someone’s life.

How Parkinson’s Disease Affects Your Body

Parkinson’s disease occurs when specialized brain cells that control movement start to die. The exact cause of these cells’ premature deaths is not yet known. However, how it affects your daily functioning is known.

The brain cells involved in Parkinson’s disease are located in the basal ganglia, the region of your brain that controls motor skills. Basal ganglia cells are necessary for fluid, coordinated movements.

Once basal ganglia cells start to die off, your movements can become shaky, jerky, and uncoordinated. This is the most common symptom of Parkinson’s disease.

As the disease progresses, symptoms can spread to other body processes, like digestion and cognitive functioning.

The Most Common Ages of Onset

You don’t necessarily have to worry about developing Parkinson’s in your 30s and 40s. While those rare cases do exist, the majority of Parkinson’s patients are 60 or older.

Some researchers believe that this late age of onset is due to changes in cell regeneration and survival in your brain. Over time, your body loses some of its ability to replenish healthy cells. In your brain, this can become a big problem, as it is the control center for the rest of your body.

Parkinson’s Disease and Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative medicine, also known as stem cell therapy, is a natural alternative to some other treatments for Parkinson’s disease.

Stem cell therapy has been shown to reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in some cases. The potential benefits of using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for Parkinson’s disease treatment include their ability to differentiate into different cell types, their immunomodulatory properties, and their potential to promote tissue repair and regeneration.

Preliminary results from some studies have shown promising outcomes, including improvements in motor symptoms, reduced inflammation, and enhanced quality of life.

Regenerative medicine may offer an alternative kind of treatment — one that helps repair existing damaged tissues and cells.

This post was written by a medical professional at Stemedix Inc. At Stemedix we provide access to Regenerative Medicine for hair, also Stem cell treatment for Parkinson’s. Regenerative medicine has the natural potential to help improve symptoms sometimes lost from the progression of many conditions.