Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases: epidemiological comparison. 1. Descriptive aspects

Abstract

Parkinson's (PD) and Alzheimer's (AD) diseases are age-related degenerative disorders that share common clinical, pathological and biochemical features. Epidemiological studies show similar age-specific incidence and prevalence curves, although PD tends to occur at earlier ages and, at old age, AD is more frequent. Both diseases are more common in western than in Mediterranean or Asiatic populations. These findings suggest that these diseases may have common determinants.