Parkinson’s disease is often misunderstood and frequently misdiagnosed, especially in its early stages. On a recent episode of The Spark, I spoke with Dr. Rebecca Gilbert, Chief Mission Officer at the American Parkinson Disease Association, about the complexities of this neurodegenerative disease and why early awareness is so critical. "It's really such an important message that we want to give over today — what is Parkinson’s disease?” said Dr. Gilbert. “It’s a brain disorder… and certain cells in the brain die. We don’t exactly know why, but something goes wrong.”

Parkinson’s is known for causing tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement, and difficulties with walking. But many early symptoms are far less obvious. "The first symptoms could be so subtle — someone may not swing their arm on one side, or they may have trouble whisking an egg or getting their arm into a coat,” Dr. Gilbert explained. “People may brush these off as arthritis or just aging.”

Other early signs are even more unexpected. Dr. Gilbert noted that some of the earliest symptoms are “non-motor,” including sleep issues, mood changes, and even constipation. "Sometimes the earliest symptoms are so not tied to something someone would think is a brain disorder... like constipation,” she said. “Only in retrospect do people realize they’ve had Parkinson’s symptoms for years.”