What is Parkinson’s Disease. Dr Nadeem Ghayas

August 19, 2024

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurological condition that impacts on movement, muscle control, and balance. The World Health Organization (2023) reports that Parkinson disease is a degenerative and chronic illness, which mostly occurs in old-age individuals, but any time the illness may appear very early. It set in and becomes more as time goes by.

Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms.

The most prevalent Parkinson symptoms are:

Tremors (shaking), which tends to start in one of the hands.

Rigidity or stiffness of muscle.

Bradykinesia (stiffness of movement)

Balance and postural instability.

With the advancement of the disease in Parkinson, one may be unable to move, communicate, and carry out everyday tasks. There are also non motor symptoms which are prevalent and they may encompass depression, sleep, memory problems, fatigue and behavioural changes. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2023), symptoms are not universal and even have a tendency to have insidious onset.

Causes and Pathophysiology

Parkinson disease is a disease that arises when nerve cells in the basal ganglia, which are involved in controlling movement in the body, are damaged or lost. Dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that is vital in smooth and coordinated muscle movements, is produced by these neurons. Movement would be coordinated slowly and uncoordinated when dopamine levels are lower because of the reduction in the number of neurons.

The neuronal degeneration is not clearly known in terms of its cause. Scientists suppose that genetic and environmental influences are a combination that leads to Parkinson disease (NINDS, 2023).

Conclusion

Parkinson disease is a complicated motor disorder that is associated with the lack of dopamine in the brain. Even though a cure is still not present, with early diagnosis and medical management, the quality of life may increase significantly.

References

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2023). The page on the information about Parkinson Disease. https://www.ninds.nih.gov.

World Health Organization. (2023). Parkinson disease fact sheet.