Everything You Should Know About Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to increasingly severe symptoms over time. While it’s best known for affecting muscle control, balance, and movement, it can also impair the senses, your ability to think clearly, your mental health, and more.

You’re more likely to develop Parkinson’s as you age, with most cases starting in people 60 and older. You’re also more likely to develop it if you’re a man. But people as young as 20 can be affected. Generally, these cases involve a genetic connection.

Parkinson’s is the second-most common age-related degenerative brain disease, behind Alzheimer’s, and the most common related to motor function. Research indicates that it affects about 1% of people over age 60 around the world.

At Advanced Neurology Specialists, LLC, board-certified neurologist Dr. Cory Lamar and our team diagnose and treat Parkinson’s disease at our office in Naples, Florida. As many patients aren’t familiar with the disease, we’d like to take this opportunity to talk about the primary signs and symptoms, so you’ll know when to seek out medical attention.

More about Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease damages a specific region of your brain, the basal ganglia, which plays a key role in the production of dopamine. Your brain uses this neurotransmitter to communicate. Parkinson’s destroys dopamine, leading to tremors, depression and dementia-like symptoms.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s symptoms include those that affect movement and non-movement functions. 

Motor symptoms

• Slowed movements (bradykinesia) due to muscle control problems
• Tremor while muscles are at rest: happens in about 80% of cases
• Rigidity or stiffness: jerky, stop-and-go movements
• Unstable posture or walking gait: a hunched-over or stooped posture as the disease gets worse
• Slowed blinking caused by reduced control of facial muscles
• Cramped or small handwriting: due to poor muscle control
• Mask-like facial expression: known as hypomimia
• Trouble swallowing (dysphagia) that can increase the risk of pneumonia or choking
• Unusually soft speaking voice (hypophonia): reduced muscle control in the throat and chest

Non-motor symptoms

Non-motor symptoms include:

• Orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure when standing up)
• Constipation and gastrointestinal problems
• Urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction
• Depression
• Loss of sense of smell (anosmia)
• Sleep problems
• Trouble thinking and focusing

Some of these symptoms occur earlier in the disease progression than originally thought and may be warning signs for more major symptoms to come.

Treating Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s has no cure, but two types of treatments can help.

Medications

• Levodopa: This and similar medications increase dopamine levels.
• Simulate dopamine: Dopamine agonists latch onto cells and cause them to produce dopamine.
• Dopamine metabolism blockers: These allow more dopamine to remain available to your brain.
• Levodopa metabolism inhibitors: These slow down how your body processes levodopa.
• Adenosine blockers: When used with levodopa, these block how certain cells use adenosine.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS)

In the past, surgeons intentionally damaged the parts of the brain that were malfunctioning because of Parkinson’s disease. Today, they achieve the same effect with DBS, which uses an implant to deliver a mild electrical current to those same areas.

The major advantage of DBS is that it’s reversible, while intentional scarring was not. DBS tends to be used in the later stages of Parkinson’s disease, when levodopa becomes less effective, as well as in people with resting tremors that don’t respond to the usual medications.

Are you noticing the signs of Parkinson’s disease in yourself or a loved one? Advanced Neurology Specialists, LLC, can help. Call our office at 239-667-5878 to set up a consultation with Dr. Lamar, or book online with us today.