Parkinson’s disease is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, and still without a cure. 

You’re collecting the main meal. Jolly banter in the queue. Suddenly, the tray slips – scalded hands and the chef’s special bakso (meatball soup) splashes down the backs of fellow diners. This happens most often at formal functions and guarantees blacklisting. An aberration – or the uncontrollable shakes?

Parkinson’s sounds like an exclusive English fashion brand. Sadly, there’s nothing posh about ’the fastest growing neurological condition in the world and the second most common after dementia'.

About 50 new cases of the disease are diagnosed in Australia every day, with an estimated 150,000 patients across the wide drown land.

Don’t confuse this with Alzheimer’s, now the leading cause of death. Parkinson’s disease doesn’t kill but carries the armaments that can hasten a trip to the cemetery or crematorium. PD stalks for years like a Russian hit man, then uncorks the nerve agent.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 8.5 million people worldwide suffer, a number that’s doubled in the last 25 years. Why, how, when, where, what? We still know far less than we need. Even AI can’t answer.

Inheritable? Are diets a factor? How about lifestyle?

PD can run in families as a result of faulty genes being passed to a child by their parents, say the experts at the NHS. But that’s rare. They........

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