Alan Greenspan, the influential five-term Federal Reserve chairman, died Monday at age 100 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. The news reignites focus on how Parkinson’s begins, what symptoms can look like, why the cause remains unknown, and how people
Alan Greenspan, the five-term chairman of the Federal Reserve whose economic commentary shaped debates for decades, died Monday at 100 from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
For many Americans. Greenspan’s death lands alongside a question families ask long before a diagnosis: what does Parkinson’s actually do to the body. and why can it progress so differently from one person to the next?. Parkinson’s is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s not confined to tremors. It can also bring changes in mood. sleep. and daily functioning—symptoms that often build gradually enough that families only recognize the pattern after months or years.
Symptoms generally develop slowly over years and can differ from person to person, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. The foundation lists tremors, stiffness, slow movement and balance problems. It also includes non-movement issues such as depression or sleep issues.
The cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown, but the Mayo Clinic says several factors appear to play a role. Those include exposure to toxins, genetics, being male—men are more likely to develop the disease than women—and age. The average age of onset is around 70.
It is unclear when Greenspan was diagnosed with the disease. Still, his survival to 100 underscores a reality the Mayo Clinic points to: it is unclear when he was diagnosed, but he was part of a small but growing number of people living to 100 in the United States.
Treatment is built around managing symptoms because there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. The Parkinson’s Foundation explains that options include medications, lifestyle changes and surgery. The Mayo Clinic adds that medicines often work very well to control symptoms. But it also notes that when medicine is no longer helping, some people may have surgery.
A care team may also recommend aerobic exercise, physical therapy focused on balancing and stretching, and speech therapy, the Mayo Clinic says.
The sequence matters: Parkinson’s disease worsens over time, but treatment can still be highly effective for years, especially when medications are working. When they do not, the next steps—surgery and specific therapies—are designed to keep symptoms manageable as the disease advances.
Greenspan’s death Monday at 100 closes the chapter on one of the most prominent economic voices to lead the Federal Reserve. For millions living with Parkinson’s—or caring for someone who is—the details of how the condition begins and how it is treated remain the practical side of a loss that is now also personal.
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