Stem Cell Study - a Ray of Hope for Parkinson’s.

It’s hard to identify the real symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. From the experience we have so far, it is said that the diseases occur mostly for people above 50 years. But in some rare cases, people above 40 years of age can also cause this disease. From a survey conducted in the UK, it is estimated that one in every 500 has Parkinson’s disease. So if the total population of the country is considered, then people with this sickness would be roughly 120,000.

The ailment that will affect both men and women and it sometimes can be hereditary. Though this fact has not been proved yet, people with a family history of this disease are more prone to early-onset of Parkinson's disease. Since this has not been confirmed up till now, we should not worry about the risk of having this disease even our direct blood relations are infected by this.

In a normal human body, movements of muscles are controlled by the nerve cells using a brain chemical called dopamine. When some nerve cells that produce dopamine die because of some reason, the muscle movements will become slower. And the loss of nerve cells in the brain causes the symptoms of Parkinson’s to appear. As the person grows older, his nerves becomes more sensitive to dopamine, and when the nerve cells producing dopamine start deteriorating, it will become difficult for the brain to send messages properly. As time passes, this condition get worse due to the improper functioning of muscles and people may find it difficult to go well with their day-to-day activities.

In the early stages of this disease, patience may feel tiredness or a general depression. After time passes, people affected with this disease may find it difficult to walk, move and synchronize body movements as they experience a shaky feeling.

As this ailment does not affect everyone in the same manner, it is difficult to identify the onset of this. Some of the common symptoms of this disease are tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia, or the slowing down and loss of spontaneous and automatic movement. Some patients also show symptoms like speech impairment, mental depression, blared vision, less sensation to certain smells, excessive sweating, burning in the legs etc.

If people that are affected by this disease try to concentrate on exercises or work they like best, it can reduce the symptoms of this disease to some extent. The best example for this is a 68-year-old business owner from Mechanicsburg. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease for a long time. On his wife's advice, he started taking weekly ballroom dancing lessons. In the initial stages of dance therapy, his legs were like pins and needles for him. But continuous training classes help his brain to overcome these symptoms. The therapy kept him motivated and reduced his disease symptoms. He forgot his pain while dancing; especially the tango style, because this dance form needs special attention to foot movements. Giving more attention to foot movements helped him to lessen shuffling, one of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

However, the sad part of the story is there is no known proper cure for this disease. While surgery gives renewal to a small number of patients, most are treated for reducing the symptoms of the disease. Treatments will be given to patients based on their age, family, living situation, disease symptoms etc. Many programs related to early indications of this disease and treatments are airing in different television channels. I have the habit of watching programs related to this on my digital television powered by Dish TV.

Lots of studies related to this disease are going on and one among this is the treatment using stem cells. Let us hope that this study brings fruitful results, thereby wiping the tears of people affected by Parkinson's disease.

Annphilip - About Author:
Liss is a freelance writer and she is interested in watching health shows. The diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer's and Dementia are not uncommon these days and people should make themselves aware of different ways to prevent and cure them. Health shows are being aired time and again and Liss follows them on her home television, powered by Dish TV.

Article Source:
http://www.articleside.com/health-articles/stem-cell-study-a-ray-of-hope-for-parkinson-s.htm

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