- Parkinson's affects many people across the United States.
- The disease slowly destroys brain cells that control movement.
- Tremor and other symptoms appear later in patients.
- Because of this, early detection is very important.
- Doctors use special brain scans to see changes.
- Scans measure markers that show brain health.
- In healthy brains the markers rise and fall together.
- In people with Parkinson's this link becomes weaker.
- Researchers compared patients with healthy volunteers using scans.
- The results may help study disease development and treatment.
Difficult words
- disease — a serious health problem in the body
- destroy — to damage something so it stops workingdestroys
- brain — the organ in your head that controls thinking and movementbrains
- movement — the act of moving or changing position
- symptom — a sign that a person is illsymptoms
- scan — a picture or test that shows inside the bodyscans
- marker — a substance or sign used to show a conditionmarkers
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Have you ever had a medical scan?
- Do you think early detection is important?
- Do you know someone with movement problems?
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