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WORLDWIDE, CA SES OF PARKINSON'S DISE A SE ARE PROJECTED TO DOUBLE BY 2040, ACCORDING TO RECENT RESE ARCH. SCIENTISTS WHO ARE INVESTIGATING THE CAUSES OF A DISE A SE THE Y SAY IS APPROACHING PANDEMIC PROPORTIONS DISCUSS WAYS TO MITIGATE IT. TA K ING ON A disturbing cha racter- ist ic of cer t a i n i n fect ious d i sea ses, Parkinson's is rapidly affecting growing nu mbers of people. T hat is l i kely to continue, according to a commenta r y published recently in JA M A Neurology. Its authors, Bastiaa n R . Bloem, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurolog y at Radboud Un i v e r s i t y M e d i c a l C e n t e r i n t h e Net herl a nd s , a nd R ay D or s ey, M D, Professor of Neurolog y at Universit y of Rochester Medica l Center in New York , not e t h at worldw ide, ca ses of Pa rkinson's disease more tha n doubled from 1990 to 2015. The "Globa l Burden of Disease Study 2015" estimated that well over 6 million people were living with Pa rkinson's disease at the end of that period. And that may be a conserva- tive f ig ure. "It 's ha rd to determine, a nd a lmost any way you do it, you undercount," says Dr. Dorsey, a coauthor of the 2015 study. " The mea ns by wh ich we deter m i ne who ha s a ny condition is limited a nd especia lly diff icult for people who a re older a nd more disabled." The authors a lso note that the preva- lence of Parkinson's is expected to more tha n double a ga in by 2040, when the number of people with the disease may reach 14.2 million globa lly. DRIVING FACTORS Drs. Bloem a nd Dorsey at tribute t he sharp increase to four key factors — the f irst two related to longer lifespa ns. " The incidence r ises sha r ply w it h age a round 65, a nd there a re more peo- ple 65 a nd older in the U.S. a nd a round the world than there were 25 years ago," Dr. Bloem says. "Additiona lly, people are living longer, so the longer you live, the more likely you are to develop any condi- tion, especially those that are associated with ag ing, like Pa rkinson's disease." Env ironmenta l inf luences a re t he third factor driving the rapid increase of Pa rkinson's. " There's a good likelihood that [healthcare providers] even outside the field of neurology and outside the field of Parkinson's will somehow meet people with Parkinson's in the near future because it is such a complex disease. On my last count, there were over 23 professional disciplines [involved in] the care of people with Parkinson's. It's not just neurologists." ž BASTIAAN R. BLOEM, MD, PHD, PROFESSOR OF NEUROLOGY AT RADBOUD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER IN NIJMEGEN, THE NETHERLANDS Addressing the Rising Prevalence of Parkinson's Disease BY K ATY MENA¬BERKLEY TRENDING UP: SPECIAL CLINICAL SECTION: DEGENERATIVE DISEASE 2 4