Perhaps the bow of my head, gives an impression I am beaten Perhaps my posture presents a picture of resignation Do you see my shaking hands or my halting movement as frailty? But I am not beaten, I am not resigned and I am not frail. - Judy Smolin

Shivering hands, a flexed walking position, slowness in movement and difficulty with walking and gait. These are the symptoms of Parkinson's disease - a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, wherein the cell in the brain starts degenerating, resulting in various complications. April 11 is observed as the World Parkinson's Day.

According to the experts working in the field, there is no information on how patients are suffering from the disease in the country. Similarly, there is no account of how many people living with this disease are given adequate treatment.

"We have tried many times to contact the health officials, even at the rural level, but there is no documentation or statistics available on the cases of Parkinson's disease in the country," said John Baffett, secretary, Parkinson's Disease Society of Karnataka.

"There are many institutions in the country which are working in the field of Parkinson's disease: AIIMS ( Delhi), Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences (Thiruvananthapuram), department of neurology in CMC Vellore etc. Each department maintains data. However, there is no unified national register for cases," said Dr Pramod Kumar Pal, additional professor of neurology, Nimhans.

Doctors at Nimhans said that many cases are unregistered. In spite of which Nihmans receives over 250 new cases every year. "In many cases, we have come across people dismissing it to be the problem of old age, this is seen especially in the rural areas. Lack of awareness is one of the biggest problems we are facing. Among the cases registered, in 25%, the symptoms are seen as early as when a person is 40 years old. But because of lack of awareness, it is ignored most of the time," said Dr Pramod Kumar Pal.

Psychiatrists dealing with Parkinson's disease said that one of the biggest problems is the loss of self-esteem of the patients. "Once someone is affected by this disease, he will be dependent on others. From walking to doing his routines, he will need help. In most cases, it could make them reclusive," said Dr Prakashi Rajaram, associated professor in psychiatric social work.
Helping hands

There are many initiatives started to help these patients. One among them is the community meets organized by groups like Parkinson's Disease Society of Karnataka. "We have about 200 patients registered with us. We organize regular meetings, have group discussions for the members and their families," said Ameetha Patel, president, Parkinson's Disease Society of Karnataka.