8 interesting facts about Parkinson’s Disease
1/12/24, 10 mins reading
Parkinson’s Disease is a chronic, progressive neuro-movement disorder that originates in the brain due to the loss of dopamine nerve cells and affects muscle movements controlled by its dopamine nerve cells. As a result of the reduction of dopamine nerve cells in the midbrain, the muscles controlled by these nerve cells are unable to function properly. Clinically, patients demonstrate motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms. Motor symptoms include muscle stiffness, slow movements, handshaking, and walking problems. Non-motor symptoms, on the other hand, include loss of smell, anxiety, depression, fatigue, constipation, etc. Worldwide, there are 10 million patients.
Here are 8 interesting facts about Parkinson’s Disease:
There is no known cause. Both genetics and environment can contribute to Parkinson’s disease, but so far no known cause has been identified. Gene mutations of SNCA and LRRK2 have been found in the family of Parkinson’s Disease patients. On the other hand, pesticides and herbicides have been believed to be associated with Parkinson’s Disease. It is believed that both genetics and environment have contributed to Parkinson’s Disease. However, a specific mechanism for Parkinson’s disease remains to be discovered, and the precise cause of Parkinson’s Disease is still unknown.
Most patients don’t run in the family. Although the chance of developing Parkinson’s Disease will be increased if one or more of the family members have Parkinson’s Disease, familial Parkinson’s Disease patients account for only a small percentage (10-15%) among all patients. The majority of patients (over 85%) are sporadic accounting.
Parkinson’s Disease can occur in young people. Despite the facts that the majority of PD patients are late-onset Parkinson's disease and diagnosed at the average age of 60, people at a young age can develop and be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. It is estimated that 2% of Parkinson’s disease patients were diagnosed at ages younger than 40.
Men tend to have more risks than women of developing Parkinson’s Disease. Both men and women could develop Parkinson’s Disease, however, men are 1.5 times more likely than women to develop Parkinson’s Disease. The specific reason for the sex difference remains unknown.
No two patients share exactly the same symptoms. Parkinson’s disease patients demonstrate both motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms. Motor symptoms include slow movements, muscle stiffness, shaking hands, and abnormal postures, non-motor symptoms include depression, anxiety, fatigue, loss of smell, constipation, etc. However, the symptoms of each individual vary and no two Parkinson’s Disease patients share exactly the same spectrum of symptoms.
The loss of smell could be an early sign. Often, it is motor symptoms such as tremors, slowed movement, stiff muscles, or loss of posture and balance that are presented to clinics, however, nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease such as the loss of smell could be the first sign of Parkinson’s disease and occurred years before motor symptoms.
There are no specific tests to diagnose PD. Unfortunately, there are no golden tests for Parkinson’s Disease. how is Parkinson's diagnosed? The diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease is collectively made on medical history, neurological exam, and brain scan.
There is no cure for PD. Parkinson’s Disease is treatable, but not curable. There are medications, surgeries, and supportive therapies that can help improve symptoms and quality of life. Among all of them, The use of Levodopa is the most commonly used way to treat Parkinson’s Disease.
Summary.
There has been a slew of developments in terms of diagnosis, treatments, and mechanism study in recent years. For example, growing evidence shows that dysfunction or irregularity of autophagy (cell self-eating) may be the underlying reason for nerve cell death in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients, therefore, removing cell debris due to the lack of self-eating may be a new way of treating PD patients.