What Do We Know About Parkinson’s?
Let’s start off with the basics…
The name comes from the English physician James Parkinson, who, in 1817, published a comprehensive description titled An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, which is a nervous disorder characterized by a trembling of the limbs at rest, lessened muscular power and a stooped posture associated with a propulsive, festinant gait. Even though the article did not achieve much attention in its era, decades after, in the 1870s a French neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot, named it after Parkinson to honour his work.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that causes trembling, stiffness, and difficulty in walking, balancing, and coordinating. Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease normally appear gradually and worsen over time with having five stages (stage I; having posture and balance problems, stage V; including delusions, hallucinations, and loss of smell). They may also have mental and behavioural changes, as well as sleep issues, depression, memory problems, and exhaustion.
The age of a person is a clear risk factor for 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. Parkinson’s disease is generally inherited, although not always, and some kinds have been linked to specific gene alterations.
But what causes Parkinson’s Disease?
When nerve cells in the basal ganglia, a part of the brain that controls movement, become damaged or die, Parkinson’s disease begins. These nerve cells, or neurons, normally create dopamine, an important brain neurotransmitter. When neurons die or become damaged, they produce less dopamine, resulting in Parkinson’s movement issues. However, scientists are still unsure what causes dopamine-producing cells to die.
Nerve endings that generate norepinephrine, the major chemical messenger of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls numerous bodily functions such as heart rate and blood pressure, are also lost in people with Parkinson’s disease. Some of the non-movement symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as fatigue, irregular blood pressure, 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 explained by 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’s 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 which demonstrates it not being linked to genetic reasons even though it is not conclusive. Many scientists now believe that Parkinson’s disease is caused by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors, including toxic exposure.
What about the cure?
Because Parkinson’s disease manifests itself differently in each individual, with having over 40 symptoms, there may be no single “cure”.
Instead, a variety of therapy may be required to address the demands of the individual and their particular type of disease.
Treatments, therapies, and strategies may be included in the following combination:
- Restoring or repairing brain cells that have been destroyed or damaged
- Treating and controlling specific symptoms
- Diagnosing as soon as feasible
- Applying medical therapies, such as medications and surgical methods, as well as lifestyle adjustments, such as diet and exercise, may be used.
And here are some of the new treatments:
- Stem cell therapies that aim to replace or repair damage in the brains of persons with Parkinson’s disease using healthy, living cells
- Gene treatments that harness the power of genetics to reprogramme cells and change their behaviour, allowing them to live longer and work better
- Growth factors (such as GDNF) that are naturally occurring chemicals that help brain cells grow, develop, and survive
The list of knowns and unknowns in Parkinson’s Disease goes on further and further; but what can you do in order to support it?
You can get involved in the research processes if possible or help from your house through the research funds via various websites like; Parkinson’s Foundation and Parkinson’s UK.
Works Cited
https://www.atrainceu.com/content/2-what-parkinson%E2%80%99s-disease
https://www.medicinenet.com/what_are_the_5_stages_of_parkinsons_disease/article.htm
https://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/guide/parkinsons-research-treatments
