Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that is characterized by slowness of movement, rigidity, and tremors. After movement becomes gradually impaired, people often develop dementia. The disease is linked to the death of dopamine-producing cells, which produce the neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in motor control.
Ten symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s vs. Alzheimer’s: Key Differences
Parkinson’s vs. Lewy body dementia
Risk factors for Parkinson’s disease
The exact cause of Parkinson’s remains unknown. Researchers believe that a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors play a role in its development. About 15 percent of Parkinson’s cases appear to be driven by genetics.
Parkinson’s disease: genetic risk
Parkinson’s disease: lifestyle factors
Head trauma may increase one’s risk of developing Parkinson’s but experts do not know if a there’s a severity or frequency of head trauma that increases your risk.
Researchers found that smoking and heavy alcohol consumption may contribute to the development of Parkinson’s disease.
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Treatment for Parkinson’s disease
There is currently no treatment to slow or halt Parkinson’s disease and available drugs only target certain symptoms.
Deep brain stimulation involves inserting a piece of metal into the brain, connected to a battery implanted under the chest, that will act as a pacemaker to stimulate a specific group of cells. DBS was approved by the FDA for treating the earlier stages of Parkinson’s in people whose symptoms don’t respond to medications. Read more here.
Levodopa is a medication for Parkinson’s that passes into the brain and becomes dopamine. Levodopa is combined with carbidopa to help levodopa reach the brain and to lessen side effects of nausea which are common when taking the drug.
FAQs about Parkinson’s disease
It can be a dementing condition, and if people live long enough, most will develop some level of cognitive impairment. People with Parkinson’s can live long, productive lives, and while cognitive changes are associated with the disease, they typically aren’t as severe or as early as those seen in dementia with Lewy bodies or Alzheimer’s disease.
Most people are diagnosed after age 60. Neurologist Dr. Ray Dorsey told Being Patient that Parkinson’s disease “triples every decade.” It’s extraordinarily rare before age 30 or even in the 40s, but the number of people with young-onset Parkinson’s (before age 50) appears to be rising, with risk still tripling across the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
Currently, there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. However, treatments are available that can treat certain symptoms and improve quality of life. Research is ongoing to find effective treatment, and currently deep brain stimulation is being studied as one possible treatment. Levodopa is a prescribed medication for Parkinson’s that passes into the brain and becomes dopamine.
