Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease can be quite difficult to diagnose as many
of the symptoms can mimic those of other neurological disorders.
However there are some symptoms which are very Parkinsonian.
Most of the symptoms from Parkinson's disease are because of the
loss of a chemical in the brain called Dopamine. The loss of
dopamine in the brain makes it difficult for the pathways which
tell the brain what movements etc the limbs and other parts of
the body wish to make. The messages become interrupted and
movement in the affected person becomes impaired. This leads to
a hypokinetic movement problem.
Unfortunately many people are not diagnosed with Parkinson's
disease until at least 80% of the Dopamine in their brain has
been destroyed. This makes it much more difficult to treat and
halt the progress than if a smaller amount of dopamine had been
lost.
Known symptoms of Parkinson's disease include :
* Balance problems One of the reasons that balance is such a
problem is because as the disease progresses, the person loses
the ability to move their limbs as they are used to doing. For
instance when walking, it is natural to swing the arms. Most
Parkinson's disease sufferers are unable to do this, so their
balance is compromised.
* Walking problems. As with balance, the eventual loss of the
ability to use their limbs effectively to assist in walking
makes it difficult for a sufferer to walk for long distances. As
the disease progresses, the walk becomes a stereotypical
Parkinson's shuffle.
* Constipation, Is a problem due to the problems with gut
function sending messages to the brain. As there are also
difficulties with swallowing, the appetite tends to diminish
with minimal fluids and food being taken unless encouragement is
given.
* Depression, Is a common problem associated with Parkinson's
disease and it's not really been decided whether it is part of
the disease, or people become depressed because they are
suffering from Parkinson's disease. It is very common though.
* Dementia Again there is divided opinion on the question of
dementia. This could be due to the fact that though dementia is
often seen in Parkinson's disease it is thought that it is not
specifically a natural progression but something the person may
have developed even if they didn't have Parkinson's. There are
certainly mainly people who do suffer from Parkinson's disease
who do not necessarily suffer from dementia.
Other symptoms can include * anxiety or panic attacks * speech
problems which can manifest by vocal cords causing monotonous,
soft speech * stooped posture, * sleep disturbances, *
dizziness, * Loss of interest in sexual function, * fatigue, *
loss of sense of smell, * oily skin,