Something Important To Parkinson's Disease Patient

Parkinson's disease (PD for short) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that affects the central nervous system, mainly affecting the motor nervous system. Symptoms usually appear slowly over time. The most obvious early symptoms are tremors, limb stiffness, decreased motor function, and abnormal gait may also have cognitive and behavioral problems; dementia is fairly common in patients who are seriously ill, and major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders also occur in more than a third of cases. Other possible accompanying symptoms include problems with perception, sleep, and mood. The main motor symptoms caused by Parkinson's disease are collectively called Parkinson's syndrome.

The cause of Parkinson's disease is still unclear, but it is generally believed to be related to genetic and environmental factors. People with Parkinson's disease family members are more likely to get the disease, and those who have been exposed to certain pesticides and have had a head trauma are also at higher risk, but those who smoke and drink coffee or tea regularly are at lower risk. The main motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease are caused by the death of cells in the substantia nigra of the midbrain, leaving patients with insufficient dopamine in the relevant brain regions. The cause of cell death is poorly understood but is known to be related to the process by which neuronal proteins form Lewy bodies. Typical Parkinson's disease is diagnosed mainly by symptoms, and neuroimaging can also help rule out the possibility of other diseases.

Similarly, radiation can cause both acute and chronic damage to the central nervous system(CNS). Studies have found that radiation can cause dysfunction of the CNS, leading to neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Research indicates that exposure to radiation can lead to decreased dopamine levels in the CNS, which is a key factor in the development of Parkinson's disease. In addition to this, radiation may also damage nerve cells and cause apoptosis, leading to a decreased number of neurons in the CNS.

CNS damage results in the destruction of nerve cells, causing nervous system function to be affected, leaving people debilitated. ARS damage can lead to the destruction of a large number of nerve cells, thereby affecting the digestive system, motor system, blood system, and immune system damage. Patients with ARES lesions may experience problems such as headaches, insomnia, memory loss and depression, and inflammation of the nervous system. CRS injury leads to chronic inflammation, as well as damage to immune cells and massive neuronal cell death. CRS damage can affect the patient's latent ability to form, as well as mood swings and state instability. In order to avoid such damage and consequences, many experts recommend the use of Cistanche extract, because it can promote the recovery of nerve cells, increase the division of neurons, promote angiogenesis, and thus enhance radiation resistance. They also pointed out that Cistanche extract can protect nerve cells from harmful radiation damage, reduce the incidence of radiation nerve injury, and provide a boost to the recovery of the central nervous system.

Click on Organic Cistanche For Parkinson's Disease

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However, there have also been studies that suggest that radiation can have beneficial effects on the CNS. Specifically, research done on an extract from the plant Rhodiola rosea has shown that irradiation can enhance the properties of the extract, potentially making it more effective in treating neurological disorders. This suggests that radiation could be a useful tool for developing treatments for common diseases of the CNS.

In conclusion, radiation can both damage and benefit the CNS. It can lead to various neurological disorders, but at the same time, it can be used to improve the properties of certain compounds and help develop treatments for neurological disorders.

Parkinson's disease is currently incurable, and the initial symptoms are often treated with L-dopa. When the effect of L-dopa decreases, dopamine agonists are used together. As the course of the disease progresses, neurons will continue to be lost, so the dose of the drug must be increased accordingly, but when the dose is just increased, side effects of dyskinesias such as involuntary twitches will occur. Diet programs and rehabilitation have some effect on symptom improvement. For severe patients who do not respond to medication, neurosurgical deep brain stimulation, which uses electrical discharges from microelectrodes to reduce motor symptoms, may be considered. Parkinson's disease with non-motor-related symptoms, such as sleep disturbance or mood problems, is generally less effective.

According to our research, the phenylethanoid glycoside extract from saline can significantly improve the decline in the viability of rat cerebellar granule cells induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium ion (MPP+) and has a good inhibitory effect, and by inhibiting the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8, it prevents the apoptosis induced by MPP+ in cerebellar granule neurons and exerts its anti-apoptotic effect. At the same time, it was proved that verbascoside can significantly improve the behavioral performance of MPTP-induced PD model mice in C57 mice, increase the content of dopamine transmitters and the number of dopaminergic neurons, and the nigrostriatal α-synapse (α-synuclein ) protein level, indicating that verbascoside in Cistanche deserticola has certain significance for drug screening for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

In 2015, an estimated 6.2 million people worldwide suffered from Parkinson's disease and 117,000 died. Parkinson's disease usually occurs in the elderly over 60 years old, and about 1% of the elderly suffer from the disease. Men are more likely to get Parkinson's disease than women. Early-onset Parkinson's disease is called early-onset Parkinson's disease if it occurs before the age of 50. The expected remaining life after a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is about 7-15 years. The disease is named after the British doctor James Parkinson, who published "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy" (An Essay on the Shaking Palsy) in 1817, in which he first described the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in detail. April 11 is also designated as World Parkinson's Day, and community groups will hold public promotion activities on this day. The tulip is a symbol of Parkinson's disease.

Motor symptoms

Parkinson's disease has four main motor symptoms: tremors, limb stiffness, slowness of movement, and unsteady posture.

Trembling is the most obvious and well-known symptom. About 30% of Parkinson's disease patients do not tremble at the beginning of the disease, but as the disease progresses, most patients will gradually develop this symptom. The tremors in Parkinson's disease are usually resting tremors, that is, the shaking of the limbs is most obvious when the limbs are at rest, but the symptoms disappear when sleeping or consciously moving the limbs. Tremors affect more of the distal extremities, usually in one hand or foot at first, but later spread to both hands and feet. The trembling frequency of Parkinson's disease is between 4-6 Hz, often accompanied by hand movements of "rubbing pills", that is, the patient's index finger will involuntarily move closer to the thumb, making the two fingers circle each other, just like a pharmacist is doing. Pills are average.

Hypokinesia, another hallmark of Parkinson's disease, is a slowing of movements that affects the entire process from initiation to execution of a movement. The patient is unable to perform consecutive movements or perform different movements simultaneously. Bradykinesia is a kind of hypokinesia, emphasizing the slow movement in the process of motor execution, which is a common symptom in the early stage of Parkinson's disease. Patients initially experience difficulty performing fine motor activities of daily living, such as writing, sewing, or grooming; clinical assessment involves observation by asking the patient to perform movements similar to those described above. The effects of bradykinesia vary with the type of movement and the patient's physical and mental state. The degree of impact is affected by the patient's activity and emotional state, resulting in some patients being so severe that they cannot walk, while others can ride a bicycle. In general, people with Parkinson's disease experience improvement in their slowed movements after treatment.

Limb stiffness is due to the patient's increased muscle tone, and the continuous contraction of the muscles, which makes it difficult to move the limbs. Rigidity in parkinsonism can be lead pipe stiffness (fixed resistance) or cogwheel stiffness (variable but regular resistance), which can be the result of tremors combined with increased muscle tone. Stiff limbs may also be associated with joint pain, which patients often experience initially. In the early stage of Parkinson's disease, the limb stiffness is often asymmetrical, and it tends to occur in the neck and shoulders, then spreads to the face and limbs, and finally spreads to the whole body as the disease progresses, causing the patient to gradually lose the ability to move.

Unsteady posture is a typical symptom of advanced Parkinson's disease. Patients often fall due to loss of balance and often break bones as a result. Postural instability is usually not present in the early stages of the disease, especially in young patients. Up to 40% of patients have fallen due to unstable posture, and 10% have fallen at least once a week. The number of falls is related to the severity of the disease.

Other motor signs of Parkinson's disease include abnormalities in posture, speaking, and swallowing. Patients may have a fluttering gait (accelerating and bending forward while walking) to avoid falling; they may also have difficulty vocalizing, masking their faces, or writing smaller and smaller, and patients may have a variety of motor problems.

Neuropsychiatric disorders 

Parkinson's disease can result in mild to severe neuropsychiatric disorders, including speech, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and thinking disturbances.

Cognitive confusion can be present early in the disease, sometimes even before the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and its prevalence increases with time. The most common cognitive deficit in patients with Parkinson's disease is an executive difficulty, which will affect the patient's planning, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, rule understanding, appropriate behavior, working memory, concentration, etc.; Symptoms of cognitive difficulties also include problems with concentration, inaccurate perception and estimation of time, and slow cognitive processing. The patient's memory will be affected, and it is especially difficult to recall previously learned information; however, providing cues to assist the patient's recall can improve related symptoms. Loss of spatial awareness is another possible symptom, and the test asks the patient to identify facial expressions and the direction of lines drawn to determine whether the patient has such impairments.

The risk of dementia in patients with Parkinson's disease is about 2-6 times that of the general population, and the incidence increases with the duration of the disease. Dementia reduces the quality of life of patients and caregivers while increasing the patient's mortality rate and a greater chance of requiring nursing home admission.

People with Parkinson's disease without cognitive impairment are more likely to have behavioral and emotional disturbances than the general population, and these patients often do not have dementia. The most common mood disorders are depression, apathy, and anxiety. However, people with Parkinson's disease often have symptoms such as dementia, reduced facial expression, decreased motor function, apathy, and vocal difficulties, which complicates the diagnosis of mood disorders. People with Parkinson's disease may also experience impulse control behaviors such as substance abuse and addiction, binge eating disorder, hypersexuality, or gambling addiction that may be related to the medication used for treatment. About 4% of patients with Parkinson's disease suffer from psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions. It is generally believed that these mental symptoms are the result of excessive dopamine during treatment. 

Other symptoms

Sleep disturbance is also a possible Parkinson's disease symptom, and treatment medications may exacerbate related problems. Patients will have drowsiness, interruption of rapid eye movement, insomnia, etc. A systematic review report shows that 13.0% of Parkinson's patients who take dopamine drugs have sleep problems.

Alterations in the autonomic nervous system may cause postural hypotension, oily skin, hyperhidrosis, urinary incontinence, and sexual dysfunction. Patients may also experience severe constipation and abnormal gastrointestinal motility, causing extreme discomfort and a health hazard. Parkinson's disease is also associated with a number of eye diseases and vision abnormalities, including decreased blinking rate, dry eye, impaired vision, saccades (both eyes jumping in the same direction under the autonomic influence), inability to gaze upward, blurred vision, and double vision. Sensory problems may manifest as loss of smell, loss of pain, and paresthesias (tingling and numbness of the skin). All of the above autonomic and sensory symptoms may have occurred up to a year before diagnosis.

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