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An excellent book - Caring for the Parkinson Patient by J. Thomas Hutton, M.D. Ph.D., et al, is well worth reading. Dr. Hutton indicates: Parkinson's disease is usally a slow, progressive disorder. A variet of scales have been developed to describe its severity. One commonly used clinical scale is that developed by Hoehn and Yahr, which divides the disease into five stages: Stage I - Signs of PD strictly one-sided, affecting one side of the body only, Stage II - Signs of PD are bilateral but balance is not impaired, Stage III - Signs of PD are bilateral and balance is impaired, Stage IV - PD is functionally disabling, Stage V - Patient is confined to bed or a wheelchair.