Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease is named after Dr. James Parkinson who identified it in 1871. It is a neurological condition that affects the way the brain co-ordinates body movement including walking, talking and writing.

The condition is caused by the loss of nerve cells in the substantia nigra part of the brain. These nerve cells are responsible for producing the chemical dopamine. Dopamine helps to transmit messages from your brain that control and coordinate body movement.

When the nerve cells become damaged, dopamine levels are reduced. When 80% of the nerve cells are lost, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease start appearing. The exact cause why the nerve cells are damaged is still unknown. Currently genetic makeups as well as environmental factors are being researched as possible reasons why nerve cells are destroyed.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s symptoms usually begin slowly and develop gradually. The severity of the symptoms differs from each person. However the main symptoms are:

1. Slowness of Movement

This is also known as Bradykinesia. Initiating movement can become difficult. It can also take longer to perform tasks. Most people think that this slowness of movement is due to age and misdiagnose the condition.

2. Shaking

Tremors or shaking occurs especially when you are at rest. The shaking becomes more pronounced when one is stressed and anxious. The tremors can become less pronounced when one is doing something.

3. Stiffness of Muscles

You may have difficulty doing simple tasks like getting out of a chair or turning around due to muscle rigidity. Making fine finger movements, facial movements and body language may become more difficult.

Other Parkinson’s symptoms include:

• Depression,
• Difficulty swallowing,
• Tiredness, and
• Constipation and bladder weakness

Parkinson’s disease Treatment

At the moment, there is no known cure for Parkinson’s disease. However, there are a range of treatments available to control your symptoms, and maintain quality of life.

Medication

There are three main types of medication to control the effects of the condition.

• Levodopa – This is absorbed by the nerve cells and turned into dopamine.
• Dopamine agonists – These act as dopamine substitutes. They lock on the dopamine receptors in the brain and act as dopamine would.
• Monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors- These destroy, the chemical monoamine oxidase-B which destroys dopamine

When using any medication, Miracles for Men suggests that you talk to your health care provider to figure out the response to the medication or any side effects.

Surgery

Surgery may not be suitable for all. However, it can ease Parkinson’s symptoms especially if medication is not working. Chronic deep brain stimulation is a surgical technique sometimes used to treat the condition.

Therapies

Because of trouble with muscle movement, physiotherapy, occupational therapy as well as speech and language therapy, are also used to make living easier. Most people with Parkinson’s need to have these therapies in order to make movement easier even though the condition is not curable.

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