I could feel Parkinson’s disease creeping up on me, so when I finally summoned up the courage to have a colleague assess me and make the diagnosis, it was of no surprise; in fact, it was almost a relief. In my mid-30s, I had taken up long-distance running, mainly to shed the weight I’d stacked on during training and fellowship years. About 10 years later, I developed a gait disturbance, manifesting as an exercise-induced dystonia in my leg. Initially, it appeared only after running a significant distance, but gradually it became more problematic, eventually leading me to stop participating in competitive events. My leg would spasm, twist and generally tighten up. I knew it was dystonia but told others it was just cramp or a ‘hip problem’; that was easier than explaining what this could become.1 I was otherwise fine and made a concerted effort to keep fit and to continue exercise as best I could. I also abandoned plans to reduce my caffeine intake given the possibility of this being neuroprotective in Parkinson’s disease. Sadly, my sense of olfaction became impaired, …

中文翻译：

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患有帕金森病的神经科医生

我能感觉到帕金森病在我身上蔓延，所以当我终于鼓起勇气让同事对我进行评估并做出诊断时，这并不奇怪。事实上，这几乎是一种解脱。在我 30 多岁的时候，我开始长跑，主要是为了减轻我在训练和团契期间积累的体重。大约 10 年后，我出现了步态障碍，表现为腿部运动引起的肌张力障碍。最初是跑了很长一段距离后才出现的，但渐渐地它变得越来越成问题，最终导致我停止参加竞技赛事。我的腿会痉挛、扭曲并且通常会收紧。我知道这是肌张力障碍，但告诉其他人这只是抽筋或“臀部问题”；这比解释这会变成什么要容易。1 我在其他方面都很好，并尽我所能保持健康并继续锻炼。我也放弃了减少咖啡因摄入量的计划，因为这可能对帕金森病有神经保护作用。可悲的是，我的嗅觉受损了，……