Roy SkillenParkinsons
April 21st 2008 11:47
Watching one of the greatest athletes of all time Muhammad Ali, struggling to control his shaking limbs as he lit the Olympic flame at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics brought Parkinson’s disease in to everyone’s homes. Although Ali’s deterioration shocked the world his condition was simply put down to a boxing career that was extended for far too long. It took the diagnosis of a 30 year old Michael J Fox to force us all to stop and look at this disease, what causes Parkinson’s? And how can we treat it?
It was Dr James Parkinson who first recognised the disease as a motor system disorders in 1817. His early work lead to the discovery that the now named Parkinson’s disease occurs when the nerves that produce a chemical called dopamine slowly deteriorate or are destroyed. It is this chemical that acts like a messenger for the brains processes that control movement, emotional response, and the capacity to feel pleasure and pain. As these nerve cells slowly die the steady stream of information that dopamine would usually carry becomes sporadic, making bodily movements more erratic and difficult to control. It is still uncertain why the deterioration of these cells occurs but is thought that genetic factors may have a role. People whose families have a history of the disease are twice as like to contract Parkinson’s. Neurotoxins are also thought to be a cause; these are chemicals that can found in the environment that are harmful to the brain. But more research is needed to determine the environmental effects on Parkinson’s.
One of Parkinson’s main problems is that the symptoms can be hard to recognise. Early signs can be as small as a trembling finger or stiffness of limbs. One sufferer only discovered that he had a problem when his wife noticed that he had stopped swinging his right arm when he walked. These minor afflictions are often put down to everyday things such as working too hard, drinking too much alcohol or old age. But there is no doubt that the long term effects of Parkinson’s can be totally debilitating, as it progresses other symptoms will include:
• Unstable or slumped-over posture
• Loss of balance
• Shuffling walk
• Slow movements
• Difficulty initiating any voluntary movement
• Small steps followed by the need to run to maintain balance
• Freezing of movement when the movement is stopped, inability to resume movement
• Muscle aches and pains
• Shaking, tremors
• Changes in facial expression
• Reduced ability to show facial expressions
• Reduced rate of blinking
• Voice or speech changes
• Frequent falls
• Decline in intellectual function
• Loss of muscle function or feeling
While there is no cure as yet for Parkinson’s there seems to be a great deal of hope for the future, particularly in the area of stem cell research. This type of therapy would repair and replace the dopamine producing cells in the brain, but there is still a lot more research needed in this and other possible cures. For now patients have to learn to live with and control the disease. The most common treatments for Parkinson’s are a mixture between medication, such as the dopamine substitute levodopa and physiotherapy. While dopamine can’t be taken straight in to the body because of the body’s blood-brain barrier, which screens out certain substances, levodopa can and is subsequently is broken down in to dopamine. The problem is that levodopa turns into dopamine so quickly that only a small amount actually reaches the brain. This means that patients have to take large doses and while this does provide a great deal of improvement it also has many side effects. Nausea, dizziness and constipation are just a few, they may also become less effective over time causing the symptoms fluctuate.
A more extreme option is surgery, this is where a wire is implanted into the brain and connected to a pulse generator which is implanted near the collarbone. This delivers a mild electrical current, similar to that of a cardiac pace maker, which blocks the dysfunctional brain waves that cause tremors. It is usually activated by a hand held magnet that the patient waves over the generator whenever a tremor begins.
Parkinson’s disease isn’t a death sentence and there many effective ways to control its symptoms in the early stages. But the truth is that a lot more research is needed to aid sufferers and even more before a total cure is found.
It was Dr James Parkinson who first recognised the disease as a motor system disorders in 1817. His early work lead to the discovery that the now named Parkinson’s disease occurs when the nerves that produce a chemical called dopamine slowly deteriorate or are destroyed. It is this chemical that acts like a messenger for the brains processes that control movement, emotional response, and the capacity to feel pleasure and pain. As these nerve cells slowly die the steady stream of information that dopamine would usually carry becomes sporadic, making bodily movements more erratic and difficult to control. It is still uncertain why the deterioration of these cells occurs but is thought that genetic factors may have a role. People whose families have a history of the disease are twice as like to contract Parkinson’s. Neurotoxins are also thought to be a cause; these are chemicals that can found in the environment that are harmful to the brain. But more research is needed to determine the environmental effects on Parkinson’s.
One of Parkinson’s main problems is that the symptoms can be hard to recognise. Early signs can be as small as a trembling finger or stiffness of limbs. One sufferer only discovered that he had a problem when his wife noticed that he had stopped swinging his right arm when he walked. These minor afflictions are often put down to everyday things such as working too hard, drinking too much alcohol or old age. But there is no doubt that the long term effects of Parkinson’s can be totally debilitating, as it progresses other symptoms will include:
• Unstable or slumped-over posture
• Loss of balance
• Shuffling walk
• Slow movements
• Difficulty initiating any voluntary movement
• Small steps followed by the need to run to maintain balance
• Freezing of movement when the movement is stopped, inability to resume movement
• Muscle aches and pains
• Shaking, tremors
• Changes in facial expression
• Reduced ability to show facial expressions
• Reduced rate of blinking
• Voice or speech changes
• Frequent falls
• Decline in intellectual function
• Loss of muscle function or feeling
While there is no cure as yet for Parkinson’s there seems to be a great deal of hope for the future, particularly in the area of stem cell research. This type of therapy would repair and replace the dopamine producing cells in the brain, but there is still a lot more research needed in this and other possible cures. For now patients have to learn to live with and control the disease. The most common treatments for Parkinson’s are a mixture between medication, such as the dopamine substitute levodopa and physiotherapy. While dopamine can’t be taken straight in to the body because of the body’s blood-brain barrier, which screens out certain substances, levodopa can and is subsequently is broken down in to dopamine. The problem is that levodopa turns into dopamine so quickly that only a small amount actually reaches the brain. This means that patients have to take large doses and while this does provide a great deal of improvement it also has many side effects. Nausea, dizziness and constipation are just a few, they may also become less effective over time causing the symptoms fluctuate.
A more extreme option is surgery, this is where a wire is implanted into the brain and connected to a pulse generator which is implanted near the collarbone. This delivers a mild electrical current, similar to that of a cardiac pace maker, which blocks the dysfunctional brain waves that cause tremors. It is usually activated by a hand held magnet that the patient waves over the generator whenever a tremor begins.
Parkinson’s disease isn’t a death sentence and there many effective ways to control its symptoms in the early stages. But the truth is that a lot more research is needed to aid sufferers and even more before a total cure is found.
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