Parkinson's Disease- Symptoms and Prognosis

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a motor system disorder that affects the motor skills of an affected person. This condition has an adverse impact on the central nervous system of the person. Its prognosis is very difficult as no one can accurately predict how the disease would affect a person. PD generally affects people above the age of 50. The condition can be difficult to diagnose. There are no blood tests to diagnose this condition, and it can be diagnosed with the help of medical history of the person and a neurological examination.

The most obvious signs of this condition are constant shaking of the body, inability to walk properly, and loss of coordination. Prognosis becomes more difficult because some people show these symptoms fairly early in their lives, whereas others do not show any symptoms until they are very old. The nature of a person's body determines how many symptoms he/she would display and at what stage of their lives.

It is a nervous system disorder that affects both men and women. In humans a chemical called dopamine is produced by the nerve cells in the brain, and it helps in the transmission of messages from the brain to the muscles of the body.

When this condition sets in, the production of dopamine gets reduced, as the dopamine-producing brain cells start degenerating. This makes it impossible for the brain to send signals to any of the muscles in the body. The exact cause of this reduction in the production of dopamine is not known exactly.

Since the disease leads to a loss of motor skills, the patient is unable to perform simple activities due to a lack of coordination. The following is a list of the most commonly observed symptoms.

• Involuntary shaking of the body
• Involuntary blinking of the eyes
• Slowed movements, or complete loss of movement
• Aching muscles

• Trouble in swallowing and involuntary drooling
• Impaired sense of balance, and trouble walking
• Slurry speech
• Dementia and hallucinations
• Memory loss and confusion

Over the last few years, the life expectancy of people affected by this disease has clearly gone up. This is largely due to the use of extremely effective drugs and therapies to treat of the symptoms. At present there is no cure for this condition, and the symptoms get worse over time. Indulging in various positive activities and support groups keeps a person cheerful, and this is the most important thing.

The disease does not lead to death by itself, but due to a lack of movement and coordination, a person is more prone to accidents and other fatal conditions like pneumonia. Some people have been living with this disease for more than 20 years. Therefore, the prognosis depends on the severity of the symptoms and the intensity of the condition. These factors depend on the person's hereditary makeup.

The current forms of treatment that are available merely cure the visible symptoms. Research is underway to discover a treatment that simply prevents the brain cells from degenerating.