Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is very progressive disease because as time goes the symptoms become worse. It is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. This disease is caused when some nerve cells or neurons of substantia nigra situated in the basal ganglia die or become impaired. The nerve cells or neurons of substantia nigra produce an important chemical in the brain known as dopamine which is responsible for neurotransmissions.
Parkinson’s disease is also caused by some toxins or chemicals called MPTP which is an impurity found in some illegal drugs. Parkinson disease symptoms are seen within hours after the ingestion of MPTP chemicals.
Parkinson’s disease mainly affects the movements of the body. Parkinson’s disease symptoms often start from one side of the body in the early stages and then gradually affect the other side of the body. Some common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are:
- Rigid limbs and trunk, stiffness, aching, weakness, tired, muscle tenseness
- Movement slowness, difficulty in doing some task, shaking and rhythmic movements of hands
- Some disorders of moods, thinking, behaviour and sensation.
- Akinesia(difficulty in controlling facial muscles) and Bradykinesia(phenomena of slow movements) is seen
- Feeling angry, anxious, downright depressed or discouraged
- Difficulty in maintaining body balance and lacking coordination
- Impaired balance or postural instability may develop backward or forward lean in the patients which lead to fall easily
- Dementia, senility and depression are the secondary symptoms
Parkinson’s disease usually starts around the age of 60. Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are more commonly seen in men compare to women. Parkinson’s disease symptoms are also rarely seen in some children.
Patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease require support group services, proper exercise, proper nutrition and general wellness maintenance to decrease the effects of disease. Carbidopa-levodopa therapy is the best therapy for the people in the latter stages of this disease.
Catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT) inhibitors drugs increases the effects of carbidopa-levodopa therapy by decreasing the effects of enzymes that stops the production dopamine chemical in the brain.
Amantdine is another drug that reduces the symptoms of this disease. It acts like a dopamine replacement and acts on different sites of the brain.
Thus, the most effective treatment for healing Parkinson’s disease is the drugs that replace loss of dopamine. These drugs are made by the combinations of levodopa, that produces dopamine and the chemical that ensures that the brain contain right amount of dopamine. Though they are very effective for treating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease but they have some side effects like nausea, constipation and dizziness. These drugs can also cause some long term problems like unwanted movements of limbs and face.