What Can You Tell Me About Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s is not fatal but it is an incurable disease. It is also a chronic and progressive disease. It is believed that damage occurs in the brain to cells that control movement.

Symptoms of the disease include tremors while at rest but not while sleeping. Tremors grow worse over time and can involve one body part or many. Other symptoms are slowness of movement, stiffness, shuffling walk, difficult speech patterns, poor balance, abnormal posture and impaired memory and possible dementia. Cognitive disturbances such as having a slowed reaction time regarding involuntary motor responses and voluntary responses. Dementia in up to 40% of patients, hallucinations, delusions, or paranoia can develop. Short-term memory loss can also occur. Cognitive disturbances have been known to improve with the use of dopaminergic medications but others have worsened.

Patients with Parkinson’s have reported sleep disturbances including disturbing dreams and REM sleep disorder, characterized by the acting out of the dream content. Insomnia is also prevalent.

Other misc., symptoms include oily skin, urinary incontinence, constipation, and weight loss.

Treatment is available for Parkinson’s and can include a combination of medications, surgery and alternative medicines.

Medications are usually the first line of treatment followed by surgery if medications are not effective.

People all over the world have Parkinson’s including men and women. It is uncommon for someone under age 40 to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease with only 10% being diagnosed under age 50. Most of those diagnosed with the disease are over age 60.

The exact cause of Parkinson’s disease is still unknown although studies have revealed more about the disease. It is known that there are often more than one family member with the disease, which leads scientists and researchers to believe there is a genetic factor. Other factors may include toxins and environmental factors. There does not seem to be any evidence that it is caused by a virus or any other infectious agent. Some possible causes being explored are drugs such as heroin, strokes, early head trauma, poisoning such as carbon monoxide or manganese and brain tumor or other rare brain degenerative issue.

Parkinson’s can be difficult to diagnosis especially when it is in the early stage. Individuals also tend to hide symptoms of the disease due to fear, uncertainty and a desire for everything to stay normal for as long as possible. After the diagnosis it is normal to feel anger, disbelief, frustration and it can be difficult to come to terms with the diagnosis. The disease is often misdiagnosed especially if the patient is younger than 50.

Many famous people have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s include Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali, Billy Graham, Janet Reno the Attorney General of the United States from 1993 to 2001 and Jeremy Thorpe the British politician and leader of the Liberal Party.

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