Browsing: Parkinson’s Disease

The brain is a wonderful three-pound organ that controls all the functions of human body and interprets information from around the world. It is one of the most complex organs in our body. It is made up of more than 100 billion nerves that communicate in trillions of connections called synapses.

Cells which produce dopamine die in Parkinson’s disease patients. Loss of dopamine causes the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as tremor and slow movements. Researchers are working for novel approaches such as stem cell and gene therapy that seem to provide benefit to Parkinson’s patients.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neuro-degenerative disorder that affects dopamine-producing neurons in the brain called substantia nigra. Generally people with Parkinson’s disease are diagnosed in old age (60 or older), but sometimes early-onset of the disease may also happen. Recent advances in the medical field have improved quality of life of people with the disease.

Patients shared their experiences that they felt tremors and behaved unusually in public. Patients expressed that a fear of unusual behavior and confusion sometimes made cutting themselves from the society. Many support groups help such Parkinson’s patients to make them feel normal like other healthy people and help them in leading a normal life.

Diagnosis of Parkinson’s can be heartbreaking. The common cause for Parkinson’s and paralysis can be dopamine loss which can correlate these two conditions. Some patients experience “internal tremors” which might be vaguely stated as Parkinson’s paralysis.

According to the American Parkinson Disease Association, early-onset Parkinson’s disease occurs when a doctor diagnoses the symptoms in a person of age 21 to 50 years. Read about the symptoms and diagnosis of early onset of Parkinson’s.