Parkinson’s disease, is a gradually occurring neurological disease that affects the motor system in the human body, and it is one of the most common neurological disorders.
Parkinson’s disease occurs due to damage to brain cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear when dopamine decreases to a degree of up to 60-70%, and is characterized by the appearance of three symptoms, which are stiffness and rigidity of the limbs, slow or no movement later, and trembling in the limbs, and It affects men more than women, and it affects people over 50 years of age.
The exact cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown, but there are some factors that can increase the risk of developing it, including:
Gender: Men are one and a half times more likely to develop Parkinson’s than women.
Ethnicity: Fair-skinned people are more likely to have Parkinson’s than Africans and Asians.
Medications: such as those that disrupt the balance between brain neurotransmitters, reduce dopamine, and cause symptoms of the disease.
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Examples of medications that increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease include statins used to control cholesterol levels, such as atorvastatin.
Age: Parkinson’s disease usually affects the age groups between 50 and 60 years, and only 5 to 10% of those under the age of forty are affected.
Genetic factor: People who have a family history of the disease are more likely to get it.
Environmental toxins: Exposure to certain toxins, such as pesticides, increases the risk of developing Parkinson’s.
Head injuries: People who have had head injuries in the past are more likely to develop Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s disease symptoms
A patient with Parkinson’s suffers from many motor or non-motor symptoms, and some of the initial symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear several years before the onset of movement problems and disorders, and these symptoms include:
- Weak sense of smell.
- Suffering from constipation.
- Small and limp handwriting when writing.
- the voice changed.
- Bend standing posture.
The four main motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are:
- Trembling limbs even when immobile.
- slow movement;
- Muscle stiffness or stiffness, such as stiffness in the arms, legs, and trunk.
- Unbalance and the possibility of falling.
Symptoms such as:
- stagnation in facial expressions.
- Speak in a calm voice and at the same pace.
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Stumbling and less arm swing when walking.
- Difficulty changing body position.
- A difference in gait.
Parkinson’s patients may have more serious symptoms, including:
- seborrheic dermatitis;
- Increased risk of skin cancer.
- Suffering from depression and anxiety.
- Insomnia, sleep disturbances such as vivid dreams, moving and talking during sleep.
- hallucinations;
- Slow thinking, problems with memory and concentration.
- Difficulty identifying visual-spatial relationships.