Young-Onset Parkinson's Disease: Lifestyle, Family, and Counseling

Parkinson's disease (PD) does not exclusively affect the older population. In fact, about four percent of people with PD in the United States developed the disease before age 50. This is called Young-Onset Parkinson's disease (YOPD). While the disease in younger people resembles in many ways PD in the older age group, it presents some unique challenges, including issues with employment, sexuality, pregnancy, family life, financial planning and parenting. In this episode, the second of two on YOPD, Dr. Bart Post of Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, a Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence, focuses on some of the social and interpersonal issues, including work, family, and women's issues. He also describes the Phase of Life Dependent Support Program that he has developed at his university to meet the special needs of people with YOPD.