Parkinson's Disease

What is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition originating in your brain. It develops when your brain’s neurons (nerve cells) degenerate.

The affected nerves produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls muscle movements. As Parkinson’s disease progresses, more neurons die and dopamine levels get lower, resulting in increased loss of muscle control.

What symptoms does Parkinson’s disease cause?

Parkinson’s disease has a wide variety of symptoms. Some of the primary ones include tremors (uncontrollable shaking), rigidity (muscle stiffness), postural instability (loss of balance), and bradykinesia (slow movement).

The tremors Parkinson’s disease causes usually affect your hands first then spread through your arms and legs. Tremors tend to be more noticeable when you’re still and improve when you start moving. Most patients find their initial symptoms steadily worsen, and new ones appear as the disease progresses. Typical signs of Parkinson’s disease include:

• Dragging your foot when walking
• Taking shorter steps
• Tremor
• Developing a stooped posture
• Struggling with handwriting
• Having difficulty swallowing
• Changes in your voice
• Being unable to make certain facial expressions
• Bouts of constipation
• Problems sleeping
• Hallucinations and delusions
• Losing your sense of smell
• Memory loss

Around 70% of Parkinson’s patients eventually develop dementia, suffering cognitive decline that affects their memory, thinking, and language skills.

To diagnose Parkinson’s disease at Advanced Neurology Specialists, LLC, Dr. Lamar analyzes your medical history and discusses your symptoms. He performs comprehensive physical and neurological exams and might take blood for testing or order diagnostic imaging procedures like an MRI.

How is Parkinson’s disease treated?

Parkinson’s disease is incurable right now, but several treatments can help lessen the condition's effects. Dr. Lamar focuses Parkinson’s disease treatment on improving your symptoms and helping you manage as the disease progresses.

He’s likely to prescribe medications that replace the lost dopamine in your brain, boost dopamine production, or have the same effects as dopamine. You can take your medications by mouth or have a pump that delivers a steady dose directly into your body. You might also benefit from medications for specific Parkinson’s symptoms, like tremor.

If medications aren’t easing your symptoms sufficiently or you develop side effects, an alternative is deep brain stimulation (DBS). This involves implanting electrodes into areas of your brain that control muscle movement. The electrodes send out electrical signals that enhance nerve activity and minimize tremors.

To find out if you have Parkinson’s disease and receive specialized care, call Advanced Neurology Specialists, LLC, or request an appointment online today.