Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (also known as Parkinson, idiopathic parkinsonism, primary parkinsonism, BP, hypokinetic parkinsonism, and also trembling paralysis) is a violation of the central nervous system Systems of a degenerative nature. The motor symptoms accompanying the course of Parkinson's disease are associated with the withering away of black matter cells (areas in the middle of the brain) that produce dopamine. Alas, modern science can not yet answer the question of why these cells suddenly start dying off. At the beginning of the course of the disease, the most obvious symptoms are those that are somehow related to movement.

Symptoms of Parkinson's disease include trembling, stiffness and slowness of the movements and, as a consequence, problems with walking. Later, with the development of the disease, there may be problems of cognitive and behavioral nature. At late stages of the disease, patients often have acquired dementia. Other symptoms of parkinsonism include problems with sleep, emotions and sensory. Parkinson's disease is most common in the elderly, and the disease in most cases occurs after the onset of 50 years.

Quite often physicians, when making the diagnosis of "Parkinson's disease", add to it the word "idiopathic", that is, whose exact, immediate cause can not be established. However, medicine knows a few atypical cases of Parkinsonism, in which the development of the disease was directly influenced by factors of a genetic nature.

To date, scientists have identified many factors, both inhibiting the development of Parkinson's disease, and contributing to its development. So, for example, it was undeniably revealed that the risk of developing the disease in smokers ... below. But people who often come into contact with certain pesticides, on the contrary, have a higher chance of getting Parkinson's disease.

Pathologically, the disease is characterized by the accumulation of a protein in the body's tissues, known as alpha-sinuclein. Such accumulations are known as the "Levi bodies", they are found inside neurons of a black substance. In addition, in parkinsonism, there is insufficient production and activity of dopamine, produced by the brain.

Taurus Levi is a kind of visiting card idiopathic parkinsonism. The number of such bodies contained in the brain of a person suffering from Parkinson's disease is a highly individual indicator, but it can also be related to the severity of the disease course in an individual. Diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, as a rule, relies on the symptoms of the disease. To confirm the diagnosis, various neuroimaging tests are used.

The modern ways in which the treatment of Parkinson's disease is performed, quite effectively cope with the early manifestations of the disease, affecting the movement. However, with the development of the disease and the subsequent dying off of cells that produce dopamine, such therapies are becoming less and less effective. Moreover, the patient has a complication of the disease, known as "dyskinesia", which manifests itself in involuntary, jerky movements. However, according to medical experts armed with the results of the research, this condition can be alleviated with the help of diets and some types of rehabilitation exercises. In addition, that the relief of the symptoms of the disease can use surgery and deep stimulation of the brain. These methods have proved effective when the use of other drugs and methods of treatment does not help. However, studies aimed at finding a new, reliable means of treating Parkinson's disease, continue to be conducted.