Signs and symptoms of advanced Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s syndrome is basically slowing of motion in a human being or is hypokinesia. The exact cause of the disease is not known nor has it a cure. The immediate cause for the symptoms to appear is that neurons in the brain die off and there is a deficiency of dopamine, a neurotransmitter. Why neurons die is no known. Unless a lot of members of a family are afflicted with Parkinson’s genetics play an insignificant part. So is the case with environmental factors. The only significant risk factor is age. People beyond 60yrs are who are commonly affected. It is a slow progressing ailment. Substituting dopamine via L’Dopa is the most effective means to control the symptoms.

The initial symptoms are very mild and not easily noticed.There are ten signs which are indicative of Parkinson’s. They are tremors when muscles are relaxed, slow movements or bradykinesia, rigid muscles, impaired balance and posture, loss of automatic moments, speech changes, especially low volume, writing changes, the words become small and letters crowded.

As the disease progresses these symptoms intensify. In advanced stages, additional symptoms appear which may be treatable.

  • Not thinking clearly: Thinking difficulties, and loss of cognitive power, dementia, which may not respond to medications.
  • Depression and emotional changes: Parkinson patients can fall into depression. Appropriate medication will help them to face other challenges thrown up by the disease.
  • Emotional: Patients may also suffer fear, loss of motivation and anxiety. Medication may help.
  • Physical: As the disease continues its onward march one may start experiencing difficulty in swallowing. Eating session will get prolonged and may have switched over to nutritious fluid foods. Saliva accumulates in the mouth and starts drooling making it necessary to tie an absorbent bib to keep the near body cloths dry.
  • Sleep issues: Sleep problems start to keep patients get up frequently at the night and prevent sleep at the night and they sleep in day time compounding the problem.
  • Urine issues: As moments slow down patients start to experience difficulty to pass urine. Often it takes long to relax and start urination. Similarly, they suffer incontinence also.
  • Others: Constipation becomes chronic. One can experience dizziness on standing because of slow compensation of blood pressure on becoming straight up. They can totally lose the sense of smell. The patient becomes constantly fatigued. The cause is not known. Some of the patients starting to get erectile dysfunction. They start suffering in their entire body instead of in specific places.
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