Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that causes tremors, stiffness, and difficulty walking, balancing, and coordinating. The onset of symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is usually gradual and worsens over time. Those affected may have difficulties doing simple activities like walking and speaking. They may also experience mental and behavioural problems, as well as sleep issues, depression, memory problems, and exhaustion. It can affect both males and females. However, men are affected to a greater extent than women.
The age of a person is a clear risk factor for developing Parkinson’s disease. Although the majority of people with Parkinson’s disease develop the disease around the age of 60, about 5 to 10% of persons with Parkinson’s disease develop it before the age of 50. The disease is usually inherited. However, some forms of the disease have been linked to specific gene alterations.
What Causes Parkinson’s Disease?
Parkinson’s disease develops when nerve cells in the basal ganglia, a part of the brain that controls movement, get damaged or die. These nerve cells, or neurons, normally secrete dopamine, an important brain neurotransmitter. When neurons die or get damaged, they produce lesser amounts of dopamine, resulting in Parkinson’s – related mobility issues.
Neurons that generate norepinephrine, the major chemical messenger of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls numerous bodily functions, are also lost in people with Parkinson’s disease. Some of the non-movement symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as fatigue, decreased food movement through the digestive tract, and a sudden drop in blood pressure when a person stands up from a sitting or lying-down position, could be attributed to the loss of norepinephrine.
Lewy bodies, peculiar clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein, are found in many brain cells of persons with Parkinson’s disease. Scientists are striving to learn more about alpha-normal synuclein and pathological roles, as well as its association to genetic abnormalities that cause Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
Although certain cases of Parkinson’s disease appear to be hereditary, and a few can be linked to specific genetic changes, the disease appears to strike at random and does not appear to run in families in the majority of cases.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
The indications and symptoms of the disease vary from person to person. Early warning indicators could be subtle and go unnoticed. Even when symptoms start to impact both sides of your body, symptoms normally start on one side of your body and get worse on that side.
The major symptoms include:
Tremors: A tremor, or shaking, usually starts in one of your limbs, most commonly in your hand or fingers. A pill-rolling tremor occurs when you rub your thumb and forefinger back and forth. When your hand is at rest, it may shake.
Sluggish movement (bradykinesia): Parkinson’s disease slows your mobility over time, making routine tasks more complex and time-consuming. When you walk, your steps may become shorter. Getting out of a chair can be challenging. When you try to walk, your feet may drag.
Rigid Muscles: Muscle stiffness can strike at any time and in any portion of your body. Stiff muscles can be uncomfortable and restrict your range of motion.
Posture and balance issues: As a result of Parkinson’s, your posture may become stooped, and you may experience balance issues.
Loss of automatic movements: Automatic movements are lost. A person suffering from Parkinson’s disease will find it more difficult to perform unconscious actions like blinking, smiling, or swinging their arms as they walk.
Speech changes: A normal person can speak softly, fast, slurring, or pausing before speaking. However, a person suffering from Parkinson’s can speak in a very monotonous manner.
Additional disorders which are frequently associated with Parkinson’s disease include problems with thinking (dementia), depression and emotional shifts such as fear, anxiety, or a lack of drive. To alleviate these symptoms, your doctor may prescribe anti-psychotic drugs. You may also experience difficulty while swallowing food. Due to slower swallowing, saliva may collect in your mouth, resulting in drooling.
Parkinson’s disease patients also frequently acquire a parkinsonian gait, which involves a proclivity to lean forward, small fast steps as if hurrying forward, and diminished arm swinging. They may also have difficulty initiating or maintaining movement.
Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease
There are currently no pathological tests available to diagnose Parkinson’s disease in nongenetic instances. A person’s medical history and a neurological examination are used to make a diagnosis. Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can be caused by a variety of conditions. There are many illnesses which have symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s disease. Due to similarity in symptoms, many of these illness may first be misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease. In order to get a proper diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, certain medical tests, as well as pharmacological therapy responses, are employed. Because many diseases have similar symptoms but require distinct treatments, it’s critical to get an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible.
Treatment
There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. However, medications, surgery, and other therapies can help to alleviate some of the symptoms. Medicines prescribed for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease include dopamine boosting drugs, drugs that interact with other chemicals in the brain and drugs that help in the control of non-motor symptoms.
Levodopa, also known as L-dopa, is the most common Parkinson’s treatment. To restore the brain’s diminishing supply of dopamine, nerve cells employ levodopa to create it. Levodopa is usually combined with another medicine called carbidopa. Carbidopa reduces the quantity of levodopa needed to treat symptoms and prevents or reduces some of the side effects of levodopa medication, such as nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, and restlessness.
Other medicines used to treat Parkinson’s symptoms include:
- Dopamine agonists, which are used to replicate the effects of the dopamine in the brain.
- MAO-B inhibitors, which are used to slow down the working of an enzyme responsible for the breakdown of dopamine.
- COMT inhibitors, which are used to help in the breakdown of dopamine
- Anticholinergic drugs, which are used to reduce tremors and muscle rigidity
Deep Brain Stimulation
Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, may be useful for persons with Parkinson’s, who do not respond well to medication. DBS is a medical treatment in which electrodes are surgically implanted in a portion of the brain and are connected to a tiny electrical device implanted in the chest. Many of the movement-related symptoms of the disease, such as tremors, slowness of movement, and rigidity, can be alleviated using deep brain stimulation therapy.
Other Therapies
Other therapies may be utilised to aid with the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Physical, occupational, and speech therapy can help with gait and voice abnormalities, tremors and rigidity, and mental function decrease. A nutritious diet and exercises to strengthen muscles and enhance balance are some of the other supportive therapies.
