April is Parkinson's Awareness Month
Every six minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with Parkin[1]son’s disease – nearly 90,000 new cases each year – and a projected 1.2 million people will live with the condition by 2030.
The purpose of World Parkinson’s Day and Parkinson’s Awareness Month is to make sure more people know about Parkinson’s and support care for current patients as well as research that will one day lead to a cure.
WHY APRIL?
James Parkinson was the London physician who first described “the Shaking Palsy” in 1817. In 1997, The World Health Organization declared his birthday, April 11, to be World Parkinson’s Day and the entire month of April is Awareness Month.
WHY TULIPS?
In 1980 a Dutch horticulturalist with Parkinson’s disease developed a red and white tulip to honor Dr. Parkinson. At the 9th World Parkinson’s Disease Day Conference in 2005, his tulip was launched as the official symbol of the condition.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Every day in our clinic we’re inspired by the resiliency of patients of all ages living with Parkinson’s.
We’ll be participating in the Parkinson’s Association’s MoveIt! walk on April 22 at Symphony Park – please join us there or register for a walk closer to you.
We’ll also be sharing stories of patients and educational information over social media and on our website, and there may be a red tulip or two blooming at 411 Billingsley Road!
Dr. Iyer is a fellowship-trained Movement Disorders Neurologist who specializes in the care of people with Parkinson’s Disease, tremors, dystonia, tics, and other movement related problems. He completed all his medical training at the Medical College of Georgia. Before joining Memory & Movement Charlotte, he spent more than a decade at Carolinas Healthcare System/Atrium Health, where he served as Department Chair of Neurology and Director of the Movement Disorders Center.
