10 early signs of Parkinson's easily mistaken for something else

Sleeping problems, losing your sense of smell, experiencing anxiety – all of these symptoms can be brought on by a huge range of illnesses.

But each of these problems are also early signs of Parkinson’s disease, warns leading charity Parkinson’s UK. Many people often have no idea they have the illness until more dramatic symptoms make themselves known.

Veteran broadcaster and one of television’s most familiar faces, Jeremy Paxman, revealed last year how he had been diagnosed with the condition ‘completely out of the blue’, having had ‘no idea’ before he collapsed while walking his dog and was rushed to A&E.

The former Newsnight and University Challenge presenter made a documentary about his condition, Paxman: Putting Up with Parkinson’s, which aired on ITV. He shared how the A&E doctor who eventually diagnosed him with the illness had been watching him carefully on TV, as Paxman said: “It turned out that [the doctor] had been watching University Challenge and had noticed that my face had acquired what’s known as the Parkinson’s mask.

“I wasn’t as effusive and exuberant as normal. I had no idea.”

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Parkinson’s disease, which affects around 145,000 people in the UK, is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years.

Symptoms can start gradually, sometimes beginning with a barely noticeable tremor in just one part of the body, before worsening over time. In the early stages, people may show little or no expression, their arms may not swing when they walk, while speech can also become soft or slurred.

There are three major warning signs - tremors or shaking, slowness of movement