World Parkinson's Day Date in the current year: April 11, 2024

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Its early symptoms are movement-related (rigidity, shaking, slowness of movement), but as the disease progresses, behavioral and thinking problems typically arise.

The condition is more common in older people, but younger people are sometimes diagnosed with it, too. For example, actor Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 30.

The condition is named after the English surgeon James Parkinson who was the first to describe it in detail. His birthday, April 11, is now observed as World Parkinson's Day. It focuses on promoting awareness of Parkinson's disease and advocating support for various causes that assist people diagnosed with it.

The worldwide symbol of the disease is the so-called Parkinson tulip. In 1980, a Dutch horticulturalist developed a red and white tulip and named it after Parkinson. Now many Parkinson's disease awareness foundations use a stylized tulip as their logo.