Parkinson's disease: early symptoms, causes and treatment
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Parkinson's disease is a condition of the nervous system affecting around one per cent of the population over the age of 60. Younger people can also be at risk.
Parkinson's disease: early symptoms, causes and treatment
Parkinson's disease is a condition of the nervous system affecting around one per cent of the population over the age of 60. Younger people can also be at risk.
Early symptoms of Parkinson's disease
Stiffness in the arms, legs or neck; tremor, usually in the hands; slowness and reduced movement; and postural instability are the main symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which is also accompanied by depression, dementia or confusion, postural deformity, difficulty speaking or swallowing, drooling, dizziness while standing still, impotence, urinary frequency and constipation.
The different diagnoses of Parkinson's disease
When stiffness, tremor, slowness of movement and loss of balance predominate and the course of the disease is slow, a loss of black-pigmented neurons occurs in two areas of the brain: the substantia nigra and the locus coeruleus. As a consequence of the loss of neurons in the substantia nigra, there is a loss of dopamine, a substance that carries messages from one neuron to another.
When in the early stages of the disease some of the main symptoms appear together with other symptoms; when the course of the disease is rapid and with marked disability within five years.
The disease encompasses several conditions, including progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration and multiple system atrophy. Parkinson's-related diseases differ in this respect: although there is a loss of nerve cells, the main changes occur elsewhere.
Other forms of Parkinson's disease
There are also a number of conditions that present with parkinsonian symptoms, for which the cause is known and which are characterised by a different rate of progression. These disorders are defined as Parkinson's syndromes and include many forms of minor damage as well as poisoning from manganese, carbon monoxide and cyanide. Parkinson's syndromes include boxer's parkinsonism, an occupational disease affecting boxers who receive repeated blows to the head.
In addition to the disorders mentioned above, which are permanent, there are many drug-induced forms of parkinsonism that are reversible once the substances in question are discontinued.
Several medications, used as tranquillisers, antidepressants, and to treat anaemia and nausea, can also be a source of Parkinson's syndromes.
Some of the best-known drugs under scrutiny are:
Chlorpromazine (Thorazine), Fluphenazine (Prolixin), Haloperidol (Haldol), Metoclopramide (Compazine), Perphenazine (Mutabin), Prochlorperazine (Stemetil), Cinnarizine (Cinazyn, Stugeron, Tomaliman).
Treatment and therapies
The treatment of Parkinson's disease places drug therapy at the forefront. In recent years, however, various surgical techniques have also established themselves. Greater importance is also increasingly being attributed to rehabilitation. The progress made by medical research in the fight against Parkinson's has had to be won with great effort, which is why it happens in small steps.
Diet for people with Parkinson's disease?
- Choose foods with a low content of saturated fats and cholesterol.
- Choose foods high in starch and fibre and low in simple sugars.
- Follow the general population's dietary recommendations regarding reducing fats — especially those of animal origin — drinks and foods rich in sugars, and consuming adequate portions of fruit and vegetables.
- Spread food intake across three main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) plus two snacks.
- Cook without added fats. Prefer cooking methods such as: steaming, microwave, grilling or griddle, pressure cooker, rather than frying, pan-cooking or boiling meat.
- Levodopa should be taken 15–30 minutes before meals; however, if it causes nausea, it can be taken together with a small low-protein snack.