Every April, the Parkinson’s Foundation engages the Parkinson’s community to raise awareness about the disease. This year, the Foundation hopes to engage as many people as possible to improve the lives of people affected by Parkinson’s and to get involved in efforts to create a world without the disease.
Each year, 60,000 people in the U.S. are newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and more than 1 million are living with it. Currently, there is no cure, but there are medications and treatments that can help patients live with the disease. Science is actively pursuing as many avenues as possible to understand it better and press forward for a cure.
What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s is a brain disorder that occurs when nerve cells in the basal ganglia become impaired or die. When these neurons fail, they produce less dopamine, which causes movement problems. People with Parkinson’s also lose the nerve endings that produce norepinephrine, the main chemical messenger of the sympathetic nervous system that controls bodily functions such as heart rate and blood pressure.
Scientists have found that the brain cells of people with Parkinson’s contain unusual clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein (also known as Lewy bodies), and they are actively studying its role.
What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s?
Parkinson’s is most commonly known to cause problems with movement or motor skills. These include tremor, slowness of movements, limb stiffness and difficulties with balance.
People with Parkinson’s also experience non-motor symptoms like apathy, depression, sleep behavior disorders, loss of sense of smell and cognitive impairment. The loss of norepinephrine might help explain some of the non-movement features of Parkinson’s, such as fatigue, irregular blood pressure, decreased movement of food through the digestive tract and sudden drops in blood pressure when a person stands up from a sitting or lying-down position. Parkinson’s symptoms usually begin gradually and get worse over time. As the disease progresses, walking and talking become more difficult, and mental and behavioral changes similar to dementia occur.
The Parkinson’s Foundation encourages the community to get involved in efforts to fund research towards a cure and improve the lives of those living with Parkinson’s today.
Kadan Homecare has cared for many Parkinson’s disease patients and provided support to their families. If you or a loved one is facing a Parkinson’s diagnosis, please call us for a complimentary consultation at 770-396-8997.
