What is Parkinson's Really?

This is a type of Laser Cane that Parkinson's
patients use to help their walking.

             What is Parkinson's really?  

By: Dulce Sanabria       

Many people may have heard about Parkinson’s disease, but do they really know what it is exactly? Most people know that it is a disease that affects the brain, mostly in elderly people. That's what most of my interviewees said. That was the first thing that came to their minds. Also, most of them remembered that one of the symptoms was shaking. All of those answers are true but, I didn't get much of any other details.

The knowledge of an average person over Parkinson’s is that it mostly stirs up in older people and that it affects their brain. Yes, this is a brain disorder and normally develops in people over age 50. In rare cases, Parkinson’s may  develop in children or younger family members. These cases mostly happen when the disease runs in the family though. What many people don't know, is the cause of this disease. Brain nerve cells use dopamine, a brain chemical, to help with the controlment of muscle movement. Parkinson’s starts developing when the brain cells that make the chemical start to slowly die away. We know the cause of Parkinson’s, loss of dopamine, but we are still quite unsure why those cells are destroyed. Sending messages without dopamine becomes hard and the brain loses control of muscle movements creating any kind of movement stiff.

These dogs are specially trained service
dogs to help Parkinson's patients in case of an accident..

Stiffness of movement is only one of the many symptoms and difficulties of a Parkinson’s patient. Many people with this disease have difficulty walking and keeping their balance. Also, they may have many muscle aches and pains, because of the movement dysfunction and may have trouble starting, continuing or stopping a movement. Tremors, or shaking, is also a symptom. According to an article I found on The National Institutes of Health website, it states: “Shaking , called tremors... May be worse when tired, excited, or stressed.” Speech is also affected by this disorder. Speaking may be slow and quiet. The patients may also suffer from memory loss.

To this day, there is not a cure for Parkinson’s. But there is treatment to control it.This treatment works by increasing the amount of dopamine in the brain. Hallucinations, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are side effects of the medication though. Also, with time some of the symptoms may stop responding to the treatment. Some lifestyle changes may help with the health of a patient with this disease. In general, good nutrition and health are important. Adjusting exercise to accommodate the change in energy levels is crucial too. Rest periods to avoid stress will help control symptoms.Another way of controlling symptoms are taking therapies. Speech therapy will help with the speaking slowness and physical therapy will help with muscle movement.

Many people have this disease. “My uncle has it”, Karina shah stated once I asked her if any of her family members or friends had the disease. Alexa Morales said, “Yes, my neighbor.” Liset Morales and Sadia Hasan both said they had a teacher with Parkinson’s. Yet, all of them had trouble figuring out what system Parkinson’s disease affected, Which is the nervous system, and the cause of developing it. Hopefully, more people will realize what Parkinson’s really is and help people suffering from it.