NOUN: a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by Tremor and impaired muscular coordination.
The Shaking Palsy was first scientifically written about by James Parkinson in 19th century London. But the written history of Parkinson's dates back further.
From the essay "What Triggers the Shaking Palsy" by Donald Calne, the following:
The first known recognition of what we now call Parkinson’s disease was by one of the greatest original minds of all time, Leonardo da Vinci. Fascinated by the structure and functioning of the human body, Leonardo noted in about 1500 that some people experienced abnormal, involuntary movements and, simultaneously, difficulty in performing the movements they did wish to make. “This appears clearly in paralytics—whose trembling limbs move...without permission of the soul; which soul with all its power cannot prevent these limbs from trembling.”
Some two centuries later, the famous British surgeon John Hunter was probably referring to Parkinson’s disease when he commented on an odd phenomenon: Patients with severe tremor did not complain about tiredness in the muscles that produced the incessant shaking. “For instance,” said Hunter, “Lord L’s hands are almost perpetually in motion, and he never feels the sensation of them being tired. When he is asleep his hands, etc., are perfectly at rest; but when he wakes, in a little while they begin to move.” When Hunter made this point in a London lecture in 1776, his audience may have included a bright, 21-year-old student named James Parkinson, who later published his classic “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy”.
Today, most of us have heard of Parkinson’s disease, but surveys suggest that many people think it is a relatively trivial disorder, the cause of a bit of tremor in elderly folks. In reality, Parkinson’s disease is both common and disabling, a disease attended by major difficulties in balance, speech, and swallowing, and ultimately leading to near total immobility and even death. Well-known figures who have been afflicted include the current pope, former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, former attorney general Janet Reno, U.S. Senator Morris Udall, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, press photographer Margaret Bourke-White, and actors Michael J. Fox, Sir Michael Redgrave, and Sir Ralph Richardson.
. Fortunately, drugs control the visual symptoms of my shaking palsy, but inwardly, I feel a slight tremor in both arms and legs. It is hardly noticeable, but it is enough to cause me to sway sometimes, especially when I first stand up. However, this internal tremor does not stop me from doing anything and I wage war by (1) exercise (2) eating the right foods, (3) avoiding stress (4) trying to remember my medication.
Hopefully these will slow down the time until the armies of PD finally achieve their objective. It took 30 years for it to get Muhammed Ali into a wheel chair. Fortunately, I should be long dead in 30 years.
Death is the last of our great enemies, but once we lose that battle, I think everything will be alright.
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