parkinson
Parkinson’s disease attacks the central nervous system and is often characterized by a main symptom of tremors in some part of the body. Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative and progressive disease that is due in part, to a lack of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a chemical that your body needs to ensure that movement occurs smoothly and properly. Without the proper amounts of dopamine your body is unable to function accurately and therefore patients with Parkinson’s disease have problems moving, may suffer tremors and may eventually lose physical movement abilities altogether. Some people believe that this disease is genetic, although there is no substantial and reliable proof of where or how Parkinson’s disease develops. To combat Parkinson’s disease doctors have medicine that will help improve mobility but there is still no cure yet for Parkinson’s disease. Here are the two options currently available in terms of medicine for Parkinson’s disease patients that are readily available.
1. Medicine- There are several drugs that have been developed to decrease the tremors, increase mobility and lessen the negative effects of Parkinson’s disease. These drugs work to build up dopamine, the chemical that is in short supply in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients. The medicine that works to develop more dopamine in the brain is called Levodopa. Used in conjunction with levodopa, another drug called Carbidopa prevents levodopa from converting into dopamine until the medicine has reached the brain, where it needs the dopamine to be deposited.
2. Secondary Medicine. If the dopamine-like medicine does not work there is also another option called antiviral medicine. These drugs work in a similar manner to try and lessen the negative affects of this disease on its victims.
3. Deep Brain Stimulation- If all the medicine fails to work or improve the functioning of a Parkinson’s disease patient, then there is another option instead of medicine. This is called Deep brain stimulation and it uses electrodes to stimulate the brain in order to improve functioning of the Parkinson’s disease patient. By stimulating the brain this type of therapy hopes to lessen the need from dopamine-like medicine for the patient. This has been a somewhat recent development in the crusade to find more treatment and potentially a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
If the source of the disease was discovered, it would be easier to try and figure out a better way of treating this disease. Since doctors still are not entirely sure about where this disease comes from or how it starts, they are at a loss for developing a cure for the disease. However, all across the world individuals are conducting research and experimentation to try and figure out the source, causes and potential cures for this degenerative and progressive disease that affects so many. In the mean time, patients with Parkinson’s disease are not left without options. There is medicine and therapy to treat their disease and hopefully the medicine will continue to prove effective in lessening the negative effects of this disease.