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Parkinson’s disease is a nervous system disorder named after Dr. James Parkinson, a British physician. It was first described by him in the year 1817.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is caused by gradual death of nerve cells (neurons) in the brain which make ‘dopamine’.  Dopamine is a vital chemical messenger  (neurotransmitter) used by nerve cells to help control movement of muscles. These dopamine producing nerve cells are clustered in a part of brain which is called ‘substantia nigra’ Loss or damage of dopamine producing nerve cells causes reduction in dopamine level. Due to deficiency of dopamine the nerve cells of that part of brain cannot send messages properly and so brain cannot have proper control over movement of muscles.

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic disease and symptoms get worse with time. Both man and woman can get Parkinson’s disease. It is a common disease for elderly. Though it affects persons over age of 50 yet sometimes it affects younger adults also.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

• Trembling: – Trembling in different parts of body like hands, arms, legs, head, jaw etc.
• Stiffness of limbs and trunk.
• Loss of balance/postural instability.
• Slowness in movement (Brady kinesia).
• Difficulty in movement – e.g. difficulty in starting to walk.
• Difficulty in swallowing, eating and chewing.
• Reduction in speech volume.
• Expressionless face.
• Constipation or urinary problem.

Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

Though there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease (PD) yet some symptoms can be reduced by medications. Varieties of drugs are available these days. The patients of PD are treated with Levodopa in combination with carbidopa. When Levodopa reaches the brain, it can be converted to dopamine by nerve cells. Carbidopa helps to delay the process of conversion of levodopa into dopamine until it reaches the brain.

But this treatment can reduce some symptoms only. In some cases surgery may be needed. When the symptoms of the disease do not respond to drugs then doctors may go for the surgery.

Author: Surya Narayan Bhattacharya