Parkinson's profile suggested: hard workers, straight arrows

The Boston Globe reports:

They tend not to smoke, drink, or seek thrills. They work hard. They show up on time, keep their homes neat, and follow complex medical instructions to the letter.

Doctors have noticed for decades that their Parkinson's disease patients often seem to share certain personality traits.

Now, a growing body of research, including surveys of Parkinson's patients and laboratory studies in mice, suggests that the disease, which afflicts more than a half-million Americans and has no cure, really does tend to strike straight arrows.

The apparent link between Parkinson's and a certain personality raises the question of whether the disease begins years or even decades before the onset of symptoms such as tremors, slowness of movement, and rigidity. That possibility, a topic under discussion at this week's World Parkinson Congress in Washington, has gained currency, raising the prospect that if the disease can be detected earlier, perhaps someday it can be prevented.

This is one is well worth your time to read.