Early Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

A progressive disease that affects the functioning of the central nervous system of human beings is known as Parkinson's disease. The brain cells called neurons are progressively injured and gradually degenerate and eventually die. This results in Parkinson's disease. The cause or the reason for this disease is unknown, the medical scientists believe genetics and environment play an important part.

The symptoms of Parkinson's disease is noticed only when around eighty percent of the cells have died. There is a small area known as "substantia nigra" located in the brain. It is the death of the neurons of this area which causes Parkinson's disease. A point noteworthy is that scientists still have not discovered the causes of neurodegeneration.

Dr. James Parkinson identified this disease in 1817 and named it "shaky palsy". However, it was in 1960 that this disease was identified as a brain disease. There are two levels of Parkinson's disease - primary level and secondary level. You must understand, the symptoms are not similar for everyone and progression of the disease varies from person to person. Another noteworthy point is, this disease affects people who are above sixty years of age. However, studies show recently Parkinson's disease has been identified in young men and women.

What are the Early Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease affects the motor skills of an individual. One of the earliest symptoms of Parkinson's disease is sluggishness. You would feel that you are becoming slow in walking, sitting down and standing up. This is known as bradykinesia. This occurs because there is a delay in the transmission of signal to and from the brain to muscles.

Tremors occur in limbs and face affecting hands, fingers, foot, mouth and chin. This happens when an individual is resting his limbs.

Another early symptom of Parkinson's disease is the stiffness of muscles. When there is a muscle movement there is sharp pain due to rigidity of the muscles. This could lead to poor balance because of loss of reflexes that enable posture.

Other Symptoms of Parkinson's disease

One of the early symptoms noticeable is changing facial expression, where the person does not blink at all. You feel he is staring at no one in particular. A person who feels he is unable to swing his arms while walking should immediately meet his general medical practitioner. Another symptom is that the voice could turn soft and you could also feel numb and discomfort in your neck and limbs. Sometimes, the legs are frozen and you move around either limping or dragging your feet. Another common early symptom is difficulty in walking and at times freezing in mid-stride.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Parkinson's disease. There are certain therapies and medication available to treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a surgery that helps to reduce the rigidity of muscles and bradykinesia. You could also go for physiotherapy.