What is Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most severely crippling chronic disorders of the nervous system and the brain center in which neurons and dopamine-producing cells in your brain begin to die.

The initial event leading to Parkinson’s disease is a damage to the postsynaptic dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra of the brain which regulate fine motor control.

Symptoms generally develop slowly over years long before you can even suspect that you may be heading for Parkinson’s disease.

Symptoms like constipation, sleep disorder or depression are not usually associated with Parkinson’s disease and yet they may be symptoms of a pending neurodegenerative disorder. The progression of symptoms is different from person to person. As Parkinson’s disease progress people may experience:

• Tremor in hands, mainly at rest

• Bradykinesia

• Limb rigidity

• Gait and balance problems

There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s itself is not fatal and disease complications can be serious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rated complications from PD as the 14th leading cause of death in the United States.

It is possible to have a good quality of life with Parkinson’s disease but the first step is to understand the disease and the progression.There are therapies that could be essential in successfully managing symptoms. But, given the complexities of the disease, please make sure that you are properly diagnosed by a neurologist and/or movement specialist before you decide on the direction you want to go. Symptoms vary from person to person and a number of other illnesses have similar symptoms, which means misdiagnoses can occur.