Everything You Need to Know About Parkinsons Disease
Parkinson'south affliction is a brain disorder that leads to shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination.
Parkinson's symptoms usually brainstorm gradually and get worse over fourth dimension. As the disease progresses, people may have difficulty walking and talking. They may likewise have mental and behavioral changes, sleep bug, depression, memory difficulties, and fatigue.
Both men and women tin accept Parkinson's disease. However, the illness affects about 50 percent more men than women.
Ane clear risk factor for Parkinson'south is historic period. Although most people with Parkinson's beginning develop the disease at about age sixty, about 5 to 10 percent of people with Parkinson's have "early-onset" illness, which begins earlier the age of 50. Early on-onset forms of Parkinson'southward are often, but non always, inherited, and some forms have been linked to specific gene mutations.
What Causes Parkinson's Disease?
Parkinson's disease occurs when nerve cells in the basal ganglia, an expanse of the encephalon that controls movement, become impaired and/or die. Commonly, these nervus cells, or neurons, produce an important brain chemical known equally dopamine. When the neurons dice or get dumb, they produce less dopamine, which causes the motility problems of Parkinson'southward. Scientists still exercise non know what causes cells that produce dopamine to die.
People with Parkinson'southward likewise lose the nerve endings that produce norepinephrine, the main chemical messenger of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls many functions of the body, such as middle rate and blood pressure level. The loss of norepinephrine might assist explicate some of the non-move features of Parkinson's, such equally fatigue, irregular blood pressure, decreased movement of food through the digestive tract, and sudden drop in blood pressure when a person stands up from a sitting or lying-down position.
Many encephalon cells of people with Parkinson'southward incorporate Lewy bodies, unusual clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein. Scientists are trying to better sympathize the normal and abnormal functions of alpha-synuclein and its relationship to genetic mutations that affect Parkinson'south disease and Lewy body dementia.
Although some cases of Parkinson's announced to be hereditary, and a few can exist traced to specific genetic mutations, in most cases the disease occurs randomly and does not seem to run in families. Many researchers now believe that Parkinson's disease results from a combination of genetic factors and environmental factors such as exposure to toxins.
Symptoms of Parkinson'due south Disease
Parkinson's affliction has four main symptoms:
- Tremor (trembling) in hands, artillery, legs, jaw, or head
- Stiffness of the limbs and trunk
- Slowness of motility
- Impaired residuum and coordination, sometimes leading to falls
Other symptoms may include depression and other emotional changes; difficulty swallowing, chewing, and speaking; urinary problems or constipation; skin problems; and sleep disruptions.
Symptoms of Parkinson'due south and the rate of progression differ among individuals. Sometimes people dismiss early on symptoms of Parkinson'south equally the effects of normal aging. In most cases, in that location are no medical tests to definitively discover the disease, so information technology can be difficult to diagnose accurately.
Early symptoms of Parkinson's disease are subtle and occur gradually. For example, affected people may feel mild tremors or have difficulty getting out of a chair. They may notice that they speak too softly, or that their handwriting is dull and looks cramped or small-scale. Friends or family members may exist the offset to notice changes in someone with early Parkinson's. They may run into that the person's face up lacks expression and animation, or that the person does not movement an arm or leg ordinarily.
People with Parkinson's often develop a parkinsonian gait that includes a trend to lean forward, pocket-size quick steps as if hurrying forward, and reduced swinging of the arms. They also may accept problem initiating or standing movement.
Symptoms often begin on ane side of the body or even in one limb on one side of the body. As the disease progresses, it eventually affects both sides. Nevertheless, the symptoms may even so exist more severe on one side than on the other.
Many people with Parkinson's note that prior to experiencing stiffness and tremor, they had sleep problems, constipation, decreased ability to smell, and restless legs.
Diagnosis of Parkinson'due south Disease
A number of disorders tin crusade symptoms similar to those of Parkinson'due south affliction. People with Parkinson's-like symptoms that result from other causes are sometimes said to accept parkinsonism. While these disorders initially may be misdiagnosed as Parkinson's, certain medical tests, equally well as response to drug treatment, may help to distinguish them from Parkinson'southward. Since many other diseases take like features but crave different treatments, it is important to make an verbal diagnosis as soon as possible.
There are currently no blood or laboratory tests to diagnose nongenetic cases of Parkinson's disease. Diagnosis is based on a person's medical history and a neurological examination. Improvement after initiating medication is another important hallmark of Parkinson'due south disease.
Treatment of Parkinson'southward Affliction
Although at that place is no cure for Parkinson'due south disease, medicines, surgical treatment, and other therapies can frequently relieve some symptoms.
Medicines for Parkinson's Illness
Medicines prescribed for Parkinson's include:
- Drugs that increase the level of dopamine in the brain
- Drugs that touch on other encephalon chemicals in the trunk
- Drugs that help control nonmotor symptoms
The master therapy for Parkinson's is levodopa, besides called Fifty-dopa. Nervus cells use levodopa to make dopamine to replenish the encephalon's dwindling supply. Ordinarily, people take levodopa along with some other medication called carbidopa. Carbidopa prevents or reduces some of the side effects of levodopa therapy—such every bit nausea, airsickness, low claret pressure, and restlessness—and reduces the amount of levodopa needed to improve symptoms.
People with Parkinson's should never terminate taking levodopa without telling their doc. Suddenly stopping the drug may have serious side effects, such as being unable to move or having difficulty breathing.
Other medicines used to treat Parkinson'southward symptoms include:
- Dopamine agonists to mimic the role of dopamine in the brain
- MAO-B inhibitors to ho-hum down an enzyme that breaks down dopamine in the brain
- COMT inhibitors to help intermission down dopamine
- Amantadine, an old antiviral drug, to reduce involuntary movements
- Anticholinergic drugs to reduce tremors and musculus rigidity
Deep Encephalon Stimulation
For people with Parkinson's who do non reply well to medications, deep brain stimulation, or DBS, may exist appropriate. DBS is a surgical procedure that surgically implants electrodes into role of the encephalon and connects them to a small electrical device implanted in the chest. The device and electrodes painlessly stimulate the brain in a mode that helps stop many of the move-related symptoms of Parkinson's, such equally tremor, slowness of movement, and rigidity.
Other Therapies
Other therapies may be used to help with Parkinson's disease symptoms. They include physical, occupational, and speech therapies, which help with gait and voice disorders, tremors and rigidity, and reject in mental functions. Other supportive therapies include a good for you diet and exercises to strengthen muscles and amend balance.
For More Information About Parkinson'due south Disease
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
800-708-7644
www.michaeljfox.org
Parkinson'due south Foundation
800-473-4636
helpline@parkinson.org
world wide web.parkinson.org
This content is provided by the NIH National Plant on Aging (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure information technology is accurate and up to appointment.
Content reviewed: May 16, 2017
Source: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/parkinsons-disease
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