Doctors Blast Rob Schneider's Parkinson's Drug Twitter Rant

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Comedian Rob Schneider's Twitter rant blaming Parkinson's drugs for Robin Williams' death has highlighted the delicate balance between the risks and benefits of the prescription drugs millions of people take every day.

In a series of tweets Monday, Schneider blasted the "evil pharmaceutical industry" for admitting that "100,000 people in the USA die a year from prescription drugs," some of which list suicide as a side effect.

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But Parkinson's disease experts say Schneider is out of line.

"Suicide is of no more concern in patients with Parkinson's versus those who don't have Parkinson's," said Dr. Irene Richard, a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center and a science adviser to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

In fact, a 2008 Howard University study found that people with Parkinson's are ten times less likely to commit suicide than the average person. Robin Williams' widow revealed after the comedian's death that Williams had been diagnosed with Parkinson's.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive condition of the nervous system marked by tremors and general difficulty with movement. It attacks the nerve cells that produce neurotransmitters associated with mood and, along with the shock of the diagnosis, can lead to depression, studies suggest.

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Doctors Blast Rob Schneider's Parkinson's Drug Twitter Rant