When someone is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, one of the first things that changes often has nothing to do with movement or medication. At a recent PD Talk hosted by the Parkinson's Association of Southwest Florida (PASWFL), licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) Ann Fisher shared a line she hears again and again from the people she works with.

One member put it simply: "One of the first things that happens when you get Parkinson's disease is the phone stops ringing." Here's why that happens — and what actually helps.

Ask any registered dietitian what to eat for brain health, and one pattern comes up again and again: the Mediterranean diet. At a recent PD Talk hosted by the Parkinson's Association of Southwest Florida (PASWFL), registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) Carolyn Bivans explained why this centuries-old way of eating is drawing serious attention from Parkinson's disease (PD) researchers.

Here's the number that stopped the room: in one study, women who followed a Mediterranean-style diet delayed their Parkinson's onset by more than 17 years. Keep reading to see how — and what to put on your plate first.

If you love someone with Parkinson's disease, you've probably had this moment: you ask them to speak up, they insist they already are, and the conversation stalls in frustration on both sides. You're not imagining it, and neither are they. Between 80 and 90 percent of people with Parkinson's disease and their care partners experience real, measurable changes in how they communicate.

Here's the twist most care partners never hear: it isn't a matter of effort. It's a trick Parkinson's disease plays on the brain — and once you understand how, nearly every frustrating conversation starts to make sense. Keep reading to learn more >