Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a genetic disease that belongs to the group of diseases movement disorders.
In Parkinson's disease there is loss of neurons responsible for producing dopamine, a substance produced in the brain that allows muscles to move.
A lack of dopamine causes symptoms such as resting tremor, stiffness, slowness of movement, known as bradykinesia and difficulty walking with a tendency to falls.
Symptoms of slowness of movement, stiffness and/or tremor are called Parkinsonism.
These symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which are associated with making movements, are called motor symptoms.
But in Parkinson's disease, there are also symptoms called non-motor symtoms.
Non-motors symptoms present in Parkinson's disease are: constipation (constipated intestine), pain, anxiety and depression, sleep disorders, fatigue, among many others.
Parkinson's disease or Parkinson's disease?
The correct thing is to say Parkinson's disease!
For a long time, the disease was referred to as "Parkinson's Disease". But we understand that this name is inappropriate and loaded with prejudice.
Parkinson's disease must be seen as a complex disease, yes, but not as a sore or curse. Like people with diabetes or high blood pressure, we must view it objectively and treat it responsibly.
Porque chamavam de Mal de Parkinson?
O termo vem de uma tradução inadequada do francês "Maladie de Parkinson". No entanto, o nome em francês "maladie" se refere a doença, e não a "mal".
O nome doença de Parkinson, foi cunhado pelo renomado médico francês Jean-Martin Charcot, conhecido com o pai da neurologia moderna. Ele descreveu muitas doenças e algumas ele nomeou. A doença de Parkinson, foi descrita de forma mais completa por James Parkinson, em um artigo chamado "Um ensaio sobre a paralisia agitante", em 1817. Mais de 50 anos depois que Charcot, liderou muitos estudos sobre a doença e começou a chamar pelo nome que até hoje utilizamos, Doença de Parkinson.
Why does Parkinson's disease happen?
Parkinson's disease happens because one (or more mutations) occur in genes that produce a protein, called alpha-synuclein.
The presence of this altered protein causes it to accumulate in several neurons in the body, leading to the death of these neurons.
Why do we call Parkinson's disease neurodegenerative?
As the death of neurons is progressive, there is a degeneration (death) of neurons, that is, a neurodegeneration, which is why we call it neurodegenerative disease.
Is Parkinson's Disease hereditary?
In the vast majority of cases, the Parkinson's disease is not hereditary.
This means that if someone has a parent or grandparent with Parkinson's, it's not certain that you will develop the disease as well. On the contrary, if a relative has developed symptoms in the most common way, after the age of 50, what is expected is that you will not develop the disease.
However, the disease does have a genetic component. This means that anyone who has a family member with Parkinson's has a greater chance/probability of having the disease.in relation to people who have no one affected in the family. But it's still a small chance overall.
Now, there are cases of hereditary parkinsonism, in which there is a mutated gene and which, yes, is passed from parent to child. These, however, are much rarer, and more usually have earlier onset of motor symptoms (often before 30 or 40 years of age).
How does Parkinson's disease progress?
The disease usually begins many years before motor symptoms, such as tremor or rigidity, appear. She can start by presenting constipation and this if the only symptoms for years. After some time, the patient may present alterations in sleep, called behavioral REM disorder. Patients with REM sleep disorder, tend to move abruptly during sleep, talk in their sleep and present vivid dreams.
In addition, it is common for the patient to complain of difficulty in smelling and to present psychiatric symptoms, such as Anxiety Disorder and Depression.
The disease then evolves with the appearance of motor symptoms (this is when the diagnosis is usually made by the neurologist).
Motor symptoms may manifest in the form of:
Rigidity:The limbs get "stiffier" and become more difficult to move.
Bradykinesia: Every movement made voluntarily tends to be slower, slower. This includes everything from raising an arm, walking and even eye blinking becoming slower and with a lower blink frequency.
Tremor: It should be remembered that not every tremor is Parkinson's disease! Most times it is not! Parkinson's tremor usually occurs when the patient is distracted, at rest. And in this case, when the patient moves his arm, the tremor decreases or disappears!
As the disease invariably progresses, and many symptoms may arise associated with the described motor symptoms, it is of fundamental importance to understand the full complexity of the disease once it has been diagnosed. In doubt, always talk to your neurologist!
The best treatment of Parkinson's disease should seek to treat all the symptoms present.
Not always with medicine, but without a doubt, you can't leave any symptoms aside!