10 Signs That Your Parent Might Have Parkinson's Disease

Your parent moves very slowly and seems clumsier.

It takes longer than usual to button a shirt, make a phone call, or do any task that requires hand coordination -- and there's no other obvious explanation for it. This slowness of movement is known as bradykinesia. As the disease progresses, Parkinson's disease patients may find themselves momentarily "freezing" like a statue while walking or turning, unable to take the next step.

Your parent's hand or leg shakes when in a resting position.

About 70 to 80 percent of Parkinson's disease patients have a "resting tremor" in a hand, arm, or leg or in the jaw or face. The shakiness occurs when, say, the patient rests her hand relaxed in her lap, as opposed to when moving to pour a cup of tea. The trembling could make it look as if she's rolling a pill between her thumb and forefinger.

If your parent's hand is shaking while holding a cup or writing with a pen, for example, she may instead have what's known as an essential tremor, not Parkinson's disease.

Your parent complains about feeling stiff or sore.

Rigidity of the muscles in the arms, legs, and torso makes it harder to move. Getting out of bed in the morning can be difficult, as can standing up from a chair. Patients with Parkinson's disease make fewer spontaneous body gestures and lose facial expressiveness. When flexing a bicep and then straightening the arm out, the motion may feel jerky, as if it's catching on a cogwheel.

Your parent has been tripping or is unsteady on her feet.

Another typical clue of Parkinson's disease is that patients have poor balance and tend to fall over, sometimes suddenly for no apparent reason. They also tend to take small, shuffling steps while walking. One major caveat, though: Changes in balance and gait tend to emerge as the disease progresses, not in the first couple of years. If your parent is experiencing these kinds of troubles early in her condition, it probably indicates a different diagnosis than Parkinson's.

The problems start on one side of the body.

Whether it's a trembling pinky finger or a strange stiffness in the foot, the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease almost always initially affect just one side. Later, sometimes after many years, they spread to the other side.

Your parent's handwriting has changed.

One of the first oddities that many Parkinson's disease patients notice is that their handwriting has become smaller and cramped, an early hint of motor difficulties.

Your parent seems sad and low on energy.

In a large proportion of cases, Parkinson's patients develop depression before showing any problems with movement. Experts believe the mood disorder is part of Parkinson's disease itself, not simply a reaction to having the illness.

When your parent walks, one arm doesn't swing as much.

In addition to moving slowly, Parkinson's patients typically move less overall. For example, they may swing their arms less often than normal (usually on one side, initially). They also blink less and swallow less.

Your parent doesn't notice odors.

Very early on, people with Parkinson's disease often lose their sense of smell because the neurodegenerative process affects the olfactory system. However, a reduced sensitivity to smells can also result from other causes.

Your parent's speech is harder to hear and understand.

Parkinson's disease can make the voice softer, muffled, and slurred.