Soundbites: Insight into Parkinson's

Actor Alan Alda, in going public with his Parkinson’s disease, wants to take away the stigma with the disease. He said he is keeping active  by playing tennis, boxing and marching. While there is no known cause and no cure, there are some proven methods of treatment that keep the progressive disease from restricting mobility.  These range from medication to staying fit and deep-brain stimulation.

Dr. Bruce Ransom, chair of neurology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, discusses symptoms of the disease, treatments, the importance of staying fit, who is a candidate for deep-brain stimulation and whether a cure is close. "Yes, I believe we are near a cure." (5:04) And with early detection and treatment, he said, "There's no reason patients can't get back to an almost completely normal life."

He discusses the topic in this downloadable video segment.