Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative condition of the nervous
system, which makes ones arms and legs tremble. The muscles even go
stiff, making ones movement comparatively slower. Some people suffering
from this particular disease even develop a condition known as senile
dementia. Patients, who are seriously affected, suffer from conditions
like pneumonia, septicaemia (blood poisoning), stroke, urinary tract
infection and pressure sores. Some of these conditions, in their severe
form, can lead to fatal consequences.
Parkinson’s disease
is caused by a continuous loss of the brain cells or neurons in a
certain portion of the brain called substantia nigra, which produces a
chemical known as dopamine. Researches have proved that people
suffering from this disease may also lack other essential brain
chemicals like serotonin (linked to mood), noradrenaline (linked to
blood pressure control) and acetylcholine (linked to mental state).
People
above forty generally suffer from this particular disease. In certain
cases, some teens may also suffer from an agonizing condition of
Parkinson’s disease.
Major risk factors associated with Parkinson’s disease are:
One loses ones capacity to smell things
One develops an obsessive personality
One may also experience extreme emotional trauma and stress
Symptoms
One
experiences stiffness and cramps in the muscles – the muscles tend to
become rigid, affecting the movements of arms, legs and necks
One may have problem in balancing the body and ones gait becomes unstable
Ones face becomes pale and expressionless
One fails to write properly
One suffers from disturbed sleeping conditions
One tends to get depressed and anxious
One faces difficulty in moving the body from one side to the other while lying on the bed at night
One experiences tremor especially when one are resting
One faces problems in initiating movements (this is known as Bradykinesia)
Ones manual dexterity gets minimized
One tends to suffer from acute constipation
One feels like urinating frequently at night
One suffers from a condition called drooling
Diagnoses
For
a proper and correct diagnosis of the condition, the physician takes
into account all of the symptoms. Doctors also perform some clinical
tests for the proper detection of Parkinson’s disease. At times,
special brain scans like SPECT or PET scans are done to support the
diagnosis of this particular disease.
Treatment
There
is no treatment for this agonizing and distressing disease as such.
Dopamine-enhancing drugs such as Levodopa can help ease, alleviate
suffering a bit. The best way to combat Parkinson’s disease is through
counseling, physiotherapy and speech therapy. Symptoms of the disease
can also be suppressed through surgery, pallidotomy, subthalamic
nucleus deep brain stimulation, pallidal deep brain stimulation and
neurotransplantation.
Support of the family and friends is an essential part of the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.