Parkinsons

General Information

Parkinson's (PD) is a degenerative disorder that affects the central nervous system. Parkinson's belongs to a set of neurological disorders that impair an individual's motor skills. In most cases of PD there is no specific cause for the disease. This is known as idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Some of the main causes of non-idiopathic Parkinson's can be attributed to Genetic factors, Toxins, Head trauma, and drug induced cases.

• Genetic Parkinson's
  Only a small number of PD cases can be attributed to Genetic Parkinson's. A person suffering from Genetic Parkinson's is more likely to have relatives suffering from PD. However, it is unknown whether Parkinson's Disease can be genetically inherited.
• Toxins
  PD is distributed throughout a population geographically, rather than homogenously. One theory for this is because of Genetically detrimental toxins in an environment. Toxins suspected for causing PD are pesticides and some types of metal.
• Head Trauma
  Many sufferers of PD report past episodes of head trauma (concussions etc.) Studies have shown that people who have suffered head injuries are more likely to develop PD than individuals who have never had a case of head trauma.
• Drug Induced
  Antipsychotic drugs can be linked to the onset of Parkinson's disease. This is because antipsychotic drugs lower the level of dopamine in an individual's brain causing a feedback loop inside individual neurons.

Symptoms

Parkinson's disease affects motor skills and causes tremors and/or rigidity. Other symptoms of PD can include mood disorders, and sensation disorders. Symptoms can differ with individual patients.

Tremors cause an affected person to shake excessively; normally this is characterized by shaky hands, legs, and arms. Tremors are usually the first symptom to be associated with the onset of Parkinson's disease. Later stages of the disease cause the sufferer to sway the upper body uncontrollably.

Other symptoms of PD can show posture and gait disturbances, drooling, fatigue, soft speech, inability to swallow, and overall loss of movement.

Parkinson's Disease is not preventable. Only individual symptoms can be treated as they arise.

Treatment

As a chronic condition, PD requires extensive management and sufferers require support from a number of different areas. At present there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, although many scientists are hopeful that stem cell research can provide a successful treatment.

Individual symptoms can be managed as they appear, but there is no way to completely remove all traces of the disease. Sufferers of Parkinson's disease usually have a poor quality of life.

The treatment for PD can be extremely expensive, and require a long term commitment. A medical insurance plan can help cover the costs. Plans are annually renewed, guaranteed for life, and can include pre-exiting and chronic conditions. For more information on Parkinson's Disease or to receive a free medical quote, contact us .