Symptoms that say you may have Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a name which many people must be familiar with. It is a medical condition where parts of the brain get damaged with time. About 1 in 500 people suffer from Parkinson’s disease and symptoms start to surface once they are above the age of 50 generally. It has been seen that on an average man suffer more from Parkinson’s than women.

Causes: 

The main cause of Parkinson’s disease is the damage to the nerve cells in a part of the brain known as the substantia nigra. This reduces a chemical called dopamine in the brain which is responsible for regulating body movements. Thus, a decrease in the levels of dopamine produces symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. It is not exactly known what causes this damage to the nerve cells but it is said that a combination of environmental factors and genetic factors lead to it. 

Symptoms: 

Some symptoms which indicate the onset of Parkinson’s disease are:-

• Tremors- Parkinson’s disease patients suffer from involuntary shaking of the body. There may be fits and tremors suddenly. It usually starts with a mild tremor in the arms and then starts becoming severe in intensity.

• Muscles may get stiff and not move anymore.

• Movement is slowed down and the body becomes inflexible. This makes even simple tasks impossible. For instance, the person may find it very difficult to even get out of the bed or take the stairs. Daily activities become impossible gradually or take a long time.

• In the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, the face is unable to show any expression.

• The arms stop swinging when the person walks as it is the beginning of muscle stiffness.

• A person loses the ability to perform any unconscious or involuntary activity like blinking or smiling.

• Parkinson’s disease also makes impairs a person’s balance and posture. The person may stoop while walking and may often lose balance.

• Speech starts becoming slurred with time. You may also start to speak slowly or in a monotone without any inflexion. You may also hesitate or find it difficult to speak.

• Writing becomes difficult and words may appear small and illegible. Since the muscles become inflexible it becomes impossible to write after a time.

• Some patients with Parkinson’s disease may experience sexual dysfunction.

• There may be sudden changes in blood pressure which can make you feel dizzy and lose balance.

• Patients with Parkinson’s disease may feel a severe drop in energy levels and suffer from extreme fatigue.

• A sense of smell is disabled gradually in the patients and they may not feel any smell.

• Some patients may even experience pain in certain areas of the body or throughout the body.

• Some patients can also suffer from sleep disorders. While it may happen that you fall asleep during the daytime or have difficulty sleeping at night.

Treatment:

Treatment of Parkinson’s disease is rare and there is almost no permanent cure. There may be treatment available to reduce the main symptoms of the disease and improve the condition of the patient. Nanavati Hospital is the best neurosurgery hospital in Mumbai where Parkinson’s patients get remarkable treatment for improvement of the symptoms. Apomorphine is such a revolutionary drug that acts as a dopamine agonist.

Neurosurgery doctor in Mumbai in Nanavati Hospital administer the use of apomorphine to Parkinson’s patients because of its quality to act like dopamine and stimulate the nerve cells. This helps to control the worsening of Parkinson’s symptoms and improves the condition of the patient to let him or her live longer with a better quality of life.

Reference: http://nanavatihospital.org