Parkinson's Disease Prognosis

Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder that affects the motor skills of an afflicted person by having an adverse impact on the central nervous system of the person. It s is a degenerative disorder that affects aged people all around the world. Its prognosis is very difficult to make as no one can accurately predict how the disease would affect a certain person. Every single person would have different reactions to this condition, so it becomes extremely difficult to plan out a chart of their behavior and symptoms.

The most obvious signs of this condition is constant shaking of the body, inability to walk properly, and loss of coordination and sense of timing while carrying out daily activities. Prognosis becomes more difficult because some people show these symptoms fairly early in their lives, whereas some others do not show any symptoms until they are very old. The nature of a person's body determines how many symptoms they would display and at what stage of their lives. There is no standardization in the onset of this disease, and this is what makes it fairly impossible thing to predict.

What is Parkinson's Disease?
It is a nervous system disorder that affects men and women, usually above the age of 50. A chemical called dopamine is produced by nerve cells in the brain, and it is this chemical that helps in the transmission of messages from the brain to the muscles of the body. When it sets in, the production of dopamine slowly gets reduced, and then it ultimately stops. This makes it impossible for the brain to send signals to any of the muscles in the body. The exact cause of this reduction in the production of dopamine is not known exactly.

Associated Symptoms
Since the disease leads to a loss of motor skills, the patient is unable to perform the simplest of activities due to a lack of coordination. The following is a list of the most commonly seen symptoms.

• Involuntary shaking of the body.
• Involuntary blinking of the eyes.
• Slowed down movements, or complete loss of movement.
• Aches and pains in the muscles.
• Trouble in swallowing and involuntary drooling.
• Impaired sense of balance and trouble walking.
• Increased trouble while writing.
• Slurry speech.
• Dementia and hallucinations.
• Memory loss and confusion.

Life Expectancy
Over the last few years the life expectancy of this disease has clearly gone up. This is largely due to the increased onset and use of extremely effective drugs and therapies for the disease. It is true that there is no cure for this condition and the human body will only get worsened symptoms over time and eventually succumb to this disease, but it pays to stay positive in the midst of it all. Indulging in various positive activities and support groups keeps an afflicted person cheerful, and this is the most important thing. The said person's family members also must be around them at all times in order to help them get through this traumatic ordeal.

The disease does not lead to death by itself, but due to a lack of movements and coordination, a person is more prone to accidents and other fatal conditions like pneumonia. Some people have been living with this disease for more than 20 years. It really depends on the severity of the symptoms and the intensity of the condition, and these factors will depend on the person's hereditary makeup.

The current forms of treatment that are available are merely curative medications for the visible symptoms. Research is underway in order to discover a treatment that simply prevents the brain cells from degenerating. The world is in dire need for a proactive form of treatment for this condition, rather than a reactive one. In the meantime, depression is what overcomes many patients and families. Finding your way around this is the key to living a happy life.