World Parkinson’s Day event in Nowra

The event will also raise funds for locals living with Parkinson’s disease.

The fete will take place at the Wesley Centre Hall, Nowra from 11am to 3pm.

The ‘Dance for PD’ class will perform at the fete.

There will be a sausage sizzle, stalls, cakes, preserves, bric-a-brac, books, plants and entertainment.

People are asked to come down and support this important community event.

Information on Parkinson’s, about the Shoalhaven Shakers and the ‘Dance for PD’ group will be available on the day.

Shoalhaven Parkinson’s nurse Nina Cheyne said Parkinson’s affects people mentally as much as it does physically.

“Because they all suffer with anxiety and depression, they take every day as it comes,” she said.

The statistics

The most recent research indicates that more than 110,000 people may be living with Parkinson's in Australia.

One in every 340 people in Australia lives with Parkinson’s.

As Parkinson’s prevalence increases threefold after the age of 65, the growth rate in number of people living with Parkinson’s is expected to increase dramatically as the Australian population ages.

It is estimated that the growth rate will average 4 per cent over the next 20 years compared to a general population growth rate of just over 1 per cent.

What causes Parkinson's

Currently there is no known cause of Parkinson’s or understanding of why some people develop Parkinson’s and not others.

This is the reason Parkinson’s is often referred to as “Idiopathic (cause unknown) Parkinson’s”.

There are many theories as to the causes of Parkinson’s and it is generally thought that multiple factors are responsible.

Through research, our understanding of the possible causes of Parkinson’s is increasing all of the time. Areas of current research include: ageing, genes, environmental factors, chemical exposure and virus like structures called prions.

Source: Parkinson’s Australia