title: Parkinsonism in poets and writers.
abstract: Parkinson disease is a severe degenerative disease, which is bewildering for its array of clinical features. Writers for the past five centuries have described the associated symptoms. Before the nineteenth century, Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote de la Mancha and William Shakespeare wrote several tragedies dealing with neurological manifestations that are characteristic of Parkinson disease. From the nineteenth century onward, writers including Charles Dickens, Samuel Beckett, Galway Kinnell, and Harold Pinter among others have showcased in their works classic manifestations of Parkinson disease. This literary attention has led to a greater awareness on the part of the general public regarding this disease and, in turn, has opened the doors to a better understanding of and a better respect for the patients affected by this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, Swiss Medical Network, Valmont-Genolier, Glion sur Montreux, Switzerland. Electronic address: jbogousslavsky@cliniquevalmont.ch.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bogousslavsky
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paciaroni
mesh_terms: D004324:Drama / Q000266:history; D005197:Famous Persons; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008091:Literature / Q000266:history*; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000266:history*; D011037:Poetry as Topic / Q000266:history
keywords: Parkinson disease; extrapyramidal syndrome; literature and CNS disorders; parkinsonism; progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)