New non-invasive tool can detect early stages of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s – CTV
June 2, 2023
After a year-long wait for a neurologist in Halifax, Tracy Brander’s husband was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. Her husband, now 54, was 39 at the time.
“It wasn’t bad for the first years, you know. But the past three years it has been terrible for him. He can hardly walk. He’s in a lot of pain,” Brander told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday.
While the average age to develop Parkinson’s is around 60, young-onset occurs in five to 10 per cent of people diagnosed under 40, according to Parkinson Canada’s website.
Brander said she would like to know if any of her four children will get the disease, too, and with a personal family history of Alzheimer’s–another neurodegenerative disease–the Dalhousie University nursing student is looking for ways to get them diagnosed before showing any symptoms.
