Patients with young-onset Parkinson’s climb Mount Kilimanjaro

(InvestigateTV) — Recent studies show the number of younger adults with Parkinson’s disease is increasing in the United States, challenging the traditional image of the condition affecting primarily older patients.

Young-onset Parkinson’s disease is defined as anyone under the age of 50 diagnosed with the neurological condition. According to the Mayo Clinic, Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time.

Patients usually lose the ability to control and coordinate movements, but experts say the age of diagnosis can make a difference for disease progression and symptoms.

Differences in younger patients

Younger Parkinson’s patients often have more involuntary movement problems due to commonly prescribed medications for the disease. Other problems such as memory loss, confusion and balance difficulties tend to be less frequent.

Although there is no cure, most younger patients are able to remain active.

Local patients climb Mount Kilimanjaro

In September 2025, Nathan Willis and Tasha Kane set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. It stands over 19,000 feet above sea level.

Both Willis and Kane have young-onset Parkinson’s disease.

Kane was diagnosed at 32. Willis was diagnosed at 36.

Kane noticed a slight tremor in her thumb. Willis’ hand started shaking in 2020, which he initially attributed to pandemic stress.

“I had a slight tremor in my thumb. My thumb was just kind of going back-and-forth sometimes and I put off going to the doctor for a while,” Kane said.

After seeing specialists, both received their diagnoses.

“He said something really strange. It’s probably what you’re thinking it is. Immediately Parkinson’s jumped into my head. Then I got it confirmed the next time I went to his office,” Kane said.

Rare condition affects daily life

Young-onset Parkinson’s is rare, affecting about 10 percent of all Parkinson’s cases. Diagnoses under the age of 40 are even rarer.

“Honestly part of it was relief, just like knowing, because I knew something was wrong for a while,” Kane said about receiving her diagnosis at 32.

Willis described the emotional impact differently.

“It’s like your whole life, this future that you had imagined for yourself is just gone. So, it was just really hard. It was a hard time, hard thing to hear,” he said.

The progressive disease’s early symptoms include tremors, difficulty walking and loss of balance.

“My hand shakes, which is hard because I’m a filmmaker and so holding the camera is getting harder, and I know it’s gonna just keep getting more and more challenging. My foot drags, my balance is off,” Willis said.

Kane, a teacher for 17 years, had to go on disability.

“I had to go on disability like a year and a half ago, which is really hard because I love the students so much, but because of that, you can’t do that job if you’re not 100%, and it was just getting unsafe to do it for me,” she said.

Mountain climbing challenge

The pair met through Team Fox NOLA, a support group under the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

In June 2024, Kane saw an advertisement in the foundation’s newsletter about a fundraiser trip to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Team Fox’s group of 10 headed to Tanzania. After more than a year of preparation, they began climbing.

“This is the prettiest place I’ve ever taken my Parkinson’s medication,” Willis said during the climb.

They spent eight days on the mountain. About 2,000 feet from the top, Kane had trouble breathing and couldn’t continue.

“There were a few tears at first, but then I kind of reflected on it and I feel like my body didn’t really fail me. It got me that far. It got me that far up the mountain. It got me 17,000-something feet up the mountain and I never thought I’d be climbing in the first place,” Kane said.

Willis and the rest of Team Fox pushed on and summited Kilimanjaro.

“I got to the top and it was just like everything felt very cinematic. It was like your whole life flashes, and it was like you can do hard things,” Willis said.

Read more of the story here.

Exercise as treatment

Along with medication, researchers have found that people living with Parkinson’s can improve their health and even slow the disease’s progression with exercise.

John Reinhart takes daily medication and has had surgical intervention to ease his symptoms. He also participates in Rock Steady, a national exercise program designed specifically for Parkinson’s patients.

When asked where he would be without the exercise program, Reinhart said he has no question the Parkinson’s would be far worse than it is.

Doctors say even if patients can’t find a program like Rock Steady, any high-intensity aerobic exercise can be beneficial.