Friday, may 13, 2011 Blue Mountains by Manny Paiva    

More than 200 people are expected to attend a Parkinson’s Conference at Blue Mountain Resort this weekend.

The one day conference takes place Saturday and features people with Parkinsons, their caregivers as well as health care professionals.

Tracy Jones is the Manager of Programs and Services for the Parkinson Society in Southwestern Ontario.

She says they will be holding wellness workshops to help people with Parkinsons live better lives.

Jones says the health care professionals will also talk about some hot topics with the disease, including stem cell research and deep brain stimulation surgery.

Jones says they targeted this region for the conference because they want to let residents know about the support groups available to them.

Stats show about nine thousand people in Southwestern Ontario suffer from Parkinsons.

Jones says they will talk about the support groups available to the caregivers of people suffering from Parkinsons.

Parkinsons affects over 100 thousand Canadians and the average age of onset is 60, but can affect people as young as 30 or 40.

The most common symptoms are tremors, slowness and balance problems but more than half of people with Parkinsons deal with depression.