Parkisnon’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease caused when a mutation in your DNA prevents faulty mitochondria from being disposed of. This causes the brain cells to die off, which results in dopamine not being produced. Dopamine is a chemical that acts as a neurological transmitter, and is necessary in cognitive functions as well as being a reward system or making us feel motivated. If dopamine is not produced, cognitive functions will eventually fail, resulting in stiffness, resting tremors, and more. Additionally, this research may be useful for other diseases relating to mitochondrial failure. How common it is:

• According to the Michael J Fox foundation for Parkinson's research:
  • Second most common brain diseases, after Alzheimer's
  • 100,000 to 200,000 people in the Canada have
  • 60,000 people get each year
• According to World Health Organization (WHO), fastest growing brain disease in the world
• According to Canada health infobase, about 38 individuals in Canada are diagnosed with Parkinsonism daily.

Key Symptoms Symptoms begin slowly and worsen over time. They are often more severe on one side of the body.

• Motor Symptoms:
  • Tremor: Rhythmic shaking, often in a hand (e.g., "pill-rolling") while at rest.
  • Bradykinesia: Slowed movement, making simple tasks difficult.
  • Rigid Muscles: Stiffness and pain in any part of the body.
  • Impaired Posture and Balance: Stooped posture and an increased risk of falls.
  • Loss of Automatic Movements: Reduced blinking, smiling, or arm swinging.
• Non-Motor Symptoms:
  • Speech changes (soft, slurred, or monotone speech).
  • Writing changes (small, cramped handwriting).
  • Cognitive changes, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, constipation, loss of smell, and fatigue.

Causes and Risk Factors

• Cause: The loss of dopamine-producing neurons leads to irregular brain activity. The presence of clumped proteins called Lewy bodies (containing alpha-synuclein) in the brain is a key feature.
• Risk Factors:
  • Age: Risk increases significantly after age 50.
  • Genetics: Having a close relative with Parkinson's increases risk.
  • Sex: Men are more likely to develop it than women.
  • Toxins: Exposure to herbicides and pesticides may slightly increase risk.
  • Head injuries may also increase risk of Parkinson’s

Treatment and Complications

• There is no cure, but medications can help manage symptoms. In some cases, surgery may be recommended to regulate specific areas of the brain.
• Complications, especially in later stages, can include dementia, difficulty swallowing, and significant changes in blood pressure.

Prevention Since the cause is unknown, there are no proven prevention methods. However, some research suggests that regular aerobic exercise and consuming caffeine may be linked to a lower risk. Parkinson's disease is named after James Parkinson, a British physician who first described the condition in an essay titled "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy" in 1817. It was later officially named after him when his work was recognized for providing the first complete clinical description of the disease.

If Parkinson's Disease is detected earlier, it is easier and safer to treat and possibly cure.

1. We downloaded the files from the National Institute of Health.
2. We found a website called Teachable Machine
3. We manually played them from a separate device to a computer, because Teachable Machine wouldn’t accept them directly.
4. We let the artificial intelligence train for about 10 minutes.
5. We tested it out afterwards with the samples we used to train it, and with our own voices after.

After training our artificial intelligence,we tested it with the 41 control samples and 40 Parkinson's patients audio files we trained it with, and the AI successfully sorted them out exceptionally well, as expected. However, when we tested it with our own voices, it would show “healthy” most of the time, and “Parkinson’s patient” rarely. Otherwise would show a mix of those two or background noise.

Our project was not entirely successful. However, it somewhat proves that this is a near-future possibility. There are some differences in the audios of Parkinson’s patients and non-Parkinson’s patients, which the artificial intelligence is picking up even with the low amount of samples. Overall, this research and experimentation can lead to earlier discoveries of Parkinson’s.

The project was not entirely successful due to a couple reasons:

• Not enough audio samples: We did not have nearly enough audio samples to properly train an artificial intelligence with a at least decent accuracy. However, we plan to contact local health institutions and hospitals. to get more samples. However, the chances of us receiving them are not the highest, as giving such files does bring up privacy and ethical issues.
• Microphone low quality: Unfortunately, Teachable Machine would not accept the audio files. So, we had to play it from a separate device, and we did not have a very good microphone.

In the future we intend to go all in on prototype two and invest time and effort to turn it into something that doctors would use with their patients.

Content Citations:

• Simon Fraser University. "Fruit fly study identifies gene that may reverse Parkinson's disease." Medical Xpress, 24 July 2024. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
• Kretzel, Lasia, and Emily Lazatin. "How fruit fly genes are helping B.C. scientists reverse Parkinson’s symptoms." Global News, 31 July 2024.
• Mayo Clinic Staff. "Parkinson's disease." Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 27 Sept. 2024.
• Hodson, Jeff. "SFU breakthrough ID’s gene that may reverse Parkinson’s disease." Faculty of Science - Simon Fraser University, 24 July 2024.
• Global News. "How fruit fly genes are helping scientists reverse Parkinson’s symptoms." YouTube.
• Simon Fraser University. "Reversing Parkinson's disease." YouTube.
• Prior, Fred, et al. “Voice Samples for Patients with Parkinson’s Disease and Healthy Controls.” Figshare, 4 Aug. 2023, figshare.com/articles/dataset/Voice_Samples_for_Patients_with_Parkinson_s_Disease_and_Healthy_Controls/23849127. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
• Google, teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. "What is Parkinson's Disease?" YouTube.
• “What Is (AI) Artificial Intelligence?” What Is (AI) Artificial Intelligence? | Online Master of Engineering | University of Illinois Chicago\, meng.uic.edu/news-stories/ai-artificial-intelligence-what-is-the-definition-of-ai-and-how-does-ai-work/#:\~:text=How%20does%20artificial%20intelligence%20work?%20Artificial%20Intelligence\,learning%2C%20reasoning%2C%20problem%2Dsolving%2C%20perception%2C%20and%20language%20understanding. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.

Image Citations:

• The Rise of Parkinson’s Disease | American Scientist\, 2020\, www.americanscientist.org/article/the-rise-of-parkinsons-disease. Accessed 06 Dec. 2025.
• “QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Death Rates for Parkinson Disease among Adults Aged ≥65 Years - National Vital Statistics System, United States, 1999–2017.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 Sept. 2019, cdc.gov/mmwr/
• volumes/68/wr/mm6835a6.htm. Accessed 06 Dec. 2025.
• Figure 2. Global Prevalence of Parkinson’s Disease by Age and Sex,..., www.researchgate.net/figure/Global-prevalence-of-Parkinsons-disease-by-age-and-sex-2016-Prevalence-is-expressed_fig3_328011698. Accessed 06 Dec. 2025.
• “Mitochondria.” Genome.Gov, www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Mitochondria. Accessed 06 Dec. 2025.
• Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD. “Parkinson’s Disease Pathophysiology.” News, 4 July 2023, www.news-medical.net/health/Parkinsons-Disease-Pathophysiology.aspx. Accessed 06 Dec. 2025.
• Berg, Kimberly. “Do You Know the Symbols of Parkinson’s?” Rebel Fit Club, 19 Mar. 2020, rebelfitclub.com/do-you-know-the-symbols-of-parkinsons/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2025.a
• “Symptoms & Stages – the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s.” The Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinsons, www.kirkgibsonfoundation.org/symptoms-stages/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.

Firstly, we would like to acknowledge the support of our parents, who entirely funded our project, and supported us throughout the journey. Secondly, we would like to thank the Calgary Youth Science Fair organization for providing us with an opportunity to delve into topics of out curiosity while exploring how the scientific process.