World Parkinson's Day: 'I was angry with diagnosis at 50'

Hearing the words, 'you have Parkinson's disease' at the age of just 50, Alison Butt felt angry, finding the diagnosis hard to fathom. But nine years on, she said she has learnt how to manage her symptoms and accepts her condition, and wants to help others with the disease do the same. Speaking to the BBC ahead of World Parkinson's Day, Alison, from Leigh, Greater Manchester, said the lack of understanding of the disease could make it harder for people to access diagnoses and treatment. "People often say to me 'oh you're young to get it', but I know that I'm not particularly," she said. "It is thought of as a disease of older people but there are a lot of younger people in their 40s and 50s, with Parkinson's." Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition caused by a lack of the chemical dopamine in their brain. It causes symptoms including a tremor, slow movement and stiff and inflexible muscles. It can also cause other symptoms like depression and anxiety, balance problems, loss of a sense of smell, insomnia and memory problems. Alison said she first noticed symptoms when her handwriting began to shrink as well as feeling stiffness in her hands and having difficulty cleanin