The date coincides with the birthday of James Parkinson, a British neurologist who, in 1817, discovered what he called paralysis agitans.

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative, progressive, and chronic disorder that affects the nervous system. It is characterized by severe neurological damage that causes changes in controlling and coordinating body movements and muscle rigidity.

The damage occurs when the system’s cells that produce dopamine, a hormone that regulates movement, stop producing it, ultimately triggering the condition, which is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s.

Symptoms appear gradually, affecting some areas of the body such as hands, arms, legs, and face, and spread throughout the body, causing motor stiffness, tremors, and balance and coordination problems.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this disease affects one in 100 people aged 60 and older. Between 20 and 40 percent of patients present early depression symptoms.

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