category Regional, mohali, , tags Regional, mohali, , DW BUREAU Mohali To mark the World Parkinson s Day, a Parkinson s Awareness Walkathon was organised here on Sunday. The walkathon started at 6 am from Silvi Park, Mohali and covered a total of 5 kms of distance. April is celebrated as Parkinson s awareness month all over the world. Giving the details, Organiser of the Walkathon, Dr Jaslovleen Kaur Sidhu, who is a neurologist and Punjab s first Parkinson s disease Movement Disorder Specialist, said, Parkinson s disease is a neurodegenerative disease with loss of nerve cells in the brain, which are responsible for producing a chemical called dopamine. The most important symptom of is slowness of activities, stiffness in the body, hand or leg tremors, and loss of balance while walking. Few other symptoms are small handwriting, loss of smell, mood changes, sleep disturbances and constipation. Dr Jaslovleen stressed that it is the responsibility of our generation to raise awareness on this because Parkinson s disease is often misdiagnosed with ageing process and therefore treatment is often missed or delayed. By raising awareness we can detect it early and offer the right treatment and hence - a better quality of life. The event was attended by family caregivers of Parkinson s disease patients, many runners -including Deep Shergill sports activist, Amar Chauhan, who has won many gold medals in India and abroad. The event organisers were also encouraged by Parminder Singh Jaiswal AAP Student Wing President. The event was attended by Wheelchair runners from Serve Humanity Serve God organisation. The event completed successfully at 9 am and it definitely left a great impact on everyone who attended it, and will go in long run to raise awareness on Parkinson s disease, as Dr Jaslovleen Sidhu promised to make this a regular annual event. Dr. Jaslovleen Sidhu is a Neurologist with special training in Parkinson s disease and Movement Disorders from NHNN, London, UK and National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore. She is practising at Mohali and offering the most advanced treatment options available in Parkinson s disease. (editor dailyworld.in)