Colorado Parkinson's disease patients fight for best possible life

A diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is devastating and brings with it a steep learning curve. If climbed, patients say, life can be good.

Amid speculation that a recent diagnosis of Parkinson's, or depression associated with it, might have been a cause for Robin Williams' suicide, local patients with the disease expressed dismay that it may have felt like a death sentence for the iconic actor-comedian.

"It would be awfully sad, but we don't know," said Kirk Hall, who learned he had Parkinson's in 2008 at age 59. "When I was first diagnosed, I was really down about it, but you have very little information at that point."

Parkinson's, a slowly progressive neurological disorder that disrupts movement, muscle control and balance, is known by many for its classic symptoms: tremors, slow motions, unsteady or shuffling gaits, erratic movements, slurred or soft speech, difficulty swallowing, and rigid limbs, neck and trunk.

About 1 million Americans and an estimated 17,000 Coloradans have Parkinson's. It's not fatal but can reduce lifespan. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rate complications from the disease as the 14th leading cause of death in the United States. After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, with an estimated lifetime risk of about 1 in 100 persons.

More men get it than women, and the average age of onset is 55. About a third of cases appear to have a genetic basis. Caucasians are at higher risk, while both smoking and coffee drinking have been associated with lower risk for the disease.

"Parkinson's is such a weird disease," said Kari Buchanan, spokeswoman for the Parkinson Association of the Rockies. "Not everybody has the same symptoms."

About a quarter never get tremors, she said.

"The disease and treatment are different for everybody. There is no carbon copy here. It can take years to diagnose," Buchanan said.

The cause of Parkinson's isn't known, but it kills brain cells that release an essential neurotransmitter, dopamine. A hallmark trait is the presence in the brain of a protein called alpha-synuclein, a major constituent of pathological clumps called Lewy bodies. Despite research focused on these proteins, answers, fixes and funding are in short supply.

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Colorado Parkinson's disease patients fight for best possible life