From Live Science website:

Some personality traits appear to be linked with the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests.

The results show patients with Parkinson's disease are more likely to be cautious and avoid taking risks compared with people who don't have Parkinson's.

Moreover, the tendency to avoid taking risks appears to be a stable personality trait across a patient's lifetime--as far back as 30 years before symptoms began, those with Parkinson's disease said they did not often engage in risky or exhilarating activities, such as riding roller coasters or speeding, the study found.

The findings add to a growing body of research suggesting Parkinson's is more likely to afflict people with rigid, cautious personalities.

These findings certainly fit my husband. During family reunions, when we're sharing anecdotes from the past, everyone agrees that N was always a stick-in-the-mud, conservative, rigidly adhering to what was done in the past, and overly respectful of authority, sure that there was a "right answer" to everything.

He and I have clashed many times over this. I'm not inclined to the kind of risk-taking associated with bungee-jumping or roller coaster rides, but I have taken other kinds of risks, some of them the life-changing kind, starting with leaving home at 16, with $200 in my pocket and a Greyhound ticket to San Francisco to seek my fortune.

Speeding? Smoking? I'll never admit to any of it. At least, not in writing.

And no one would ever accuse me of being rigid or bound by convention (I learned that seeming to be conventional can be a useful camouflage, however, not to mention keeping one out of jail.) And as for respect for authority...let's just say my respect has to be earned.

We were as different as oil and water. Still are.