World Parkinson’s Disease Day: All you need to about this brain disorder

Parkinson’s disease is more difficult to manage than you think. While you use your voice or facial expressions to convey what you want to say, people with this brain disorder are not able to communicate like that. At times, it can get a little difficult to understand what people with Parkinson’s are trying to say, which is why we must understand all about the disease. On World Parkinson’s Disease Day, let’s know all about it.

Health Shots reached out to Dr Nitin Kumar Gupta, Consultant Neurology, Manipal Hospital, Jaipur to know about Parkinson’s disease.

What is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disease that happens when the neurons in the body start to die by themselves slowly. There have been many cases where no actual cause of the disease has been found. In the body of a person with Parkinson’s, the dopamine-secreting nerve cells in the body start dying automatically. This leads to an array of symptoms that make patients difficult to complete day-to-day tasks, explains Dr Gupta.

While there are several reasons why a person may get affected by it, the expert points out some common causes of the disease. “Certain drugs have been found to increase the risk of Parkinson’s such as Domperidone taken with Pantoprazole, Panto D, Panto L like antacids, and other medications that can cause Parkinson-like symptoms. Some psychiatric drugs can also cause Parkinson’s. A few rare cases of the disease can be hereditary otherwise the disease is not hereditary in nature.”

Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

People with this disorder may experience the following symptoms:

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• Rigidity in the body partially or completely
• Slow movements or the person is not able to do day-to-day tasks like writing, eating food, and walking quickly
• The face may start to feel blank or numb
• Tremors are experienced in the limbs and the body
• The person has difficulty in balance leading to a risk of falls ad injury

Also Read: World Parkinson’s Disease Day: Is it possible to control tremors?

Treatment of Parkinson’s disease

The most devastating part of developing this disorder is that it has no cure. However, there is research going on to find a cure for the disease. There might not be a permanent solution, but there are treatment options available that can help Parkinson’s patients. So, you shouldn’t mean that you should refrain the patient from seeking treatment.

Dr Gupta shares that people are treated using medication, physiotherapy, and exercises for gait and balance. Another treatment option for selected people includes the deep brain stimulation (DBS) modality. People can also eliminate the overuse of over-the-counter antacids and other medications.

Also Read: 5 tips to communicate with a loved one who has Parkinson’s disease

There is speech therapy to enhance the volume and fluency of the patient. Gait and balance exercises, and physical endurance with a daily walk, and little workouts of the muscles can help. As per a recent study, dance, and music can also help in slowing down the progression of Parkinson’s Disease. However, different treatments and therapies are based on individual case studies. One option might not be fit for all, adds the expert.