THOUSANDS of people in the UK smile off requests to put money in collecting boxes and walk smartly in the opposite direction.

They could be unlucky in their ungenerous spirit; or unlucky in that they are sufferers from Parkinson's Disease and have lost the precious ability to smile, much less walk smartly off.

Many tend to associate Parkinson's Disease with extreme age, hence the unkind references to "doddering" old folk which reflects the shaking limbs of the sufferer. But one in 20 diagnoses refer to people under 40.

There are more than 120,000 sufferers in the UK and more than 10,000, most over 60, are diagnosed each year. A medical dictionary will reveal that PD is a progressive neurological disorder; it will not reveal the heartbreaking sadness caused to victims, their families and their carers. Despite progress in treatments, there is still no cure for Parkinson's Disease, hence the efforts of the Parkinson's Disease Society through its 230-odd branches. The Society aims to conquer the horrid affliction, to alleviate distress where it is possible through research, education, welfare and communication, and to train people to help sufferers.

There is a Helpline service and some £1million a year is spent on research projects.

It is the usual story of committed individuals taking it upon themselves to help the growing number of victims; what could make the story unusual is a successful conclusion to the search for a cure, and this can only come with the help and awareness of the public. This week, April 13-21, is Parkinson's Awareness Week and sees the launch of a national campaign to tell people what a sufferer - and his or her partner and carer - feels. It is a heartbreaking process watching a bright and alert loved one gradually diminish in strength and purpose.

No area of a sufferer's life is unaffected by PD; talking, walking, swallowing, writing, hugging a partner, controlling movement - no ability is safe. This is because cells in the part of the brain which controls movement are lost; these cells contain dopamine, a chemical messenger which facilitates smooth, co-ordinated movements.

Why should the dopamine-producing cells die? No-one knows, but once 80pc of them are gone, the symptoms of Parkinson's will occur - the shaking, muscle stiffness, slowness of movement. Initial drug treatment is very effective, but can, long term, result in confusion, hallucination and fluctuation in ability to move. Now more research is being done into pallidotomy, a surgical procedure not widely available as treatment, which was temporarily abandoned when drug therapy was introduced in the '60s. Pallidotomy involves destroying brain cells with electric currents, a procedure which can take up to eight hours and which carries its own risks.

During 1994, a dozen patients were carefully selected and nine of them have had this neuro-surgery. The initial results of the painstaking evaluation are due to emerge this year.

What is happening to those Parkinson's Disease victims could open up a whole new agenda for future sufferers. Whatever the outcome, the Society will keep on aiming for a cure - with a lot of help from its friends.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.