What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressive adult neurological disease characterized by the deposition of a protein called synuclein in the brain and sometimes also in peripheral tissues. The cause of Parkinson’s is unknown although in 5% of cases it is hereditary. In Parkinson’s there is a decrease in dopamine which is the cause of the patients’ mobility problems.
What are the essential symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease has very varied symptoms, it is what is called a very heterogeneous disease. It can begin at the age of 40 years or it can begin at the age of 70 or 80 years. The most important symptoms are what we call motor symptoms such as tremor of the arms or slowness of movements. Other characteristic symptoms are what we call non-motor symptoms such as sleep difficulties, memory problems, mental depression or even difficulties with urination or constipation.
In Parkinson’s tremors improve when the subject performs a movement, in addition they are generally accompanied by slowness and clumsiness of movements. In the tremors of the elderly of another type we observe a worsening when performing an activity such as drinking water from a glass or eating soup with a spoon. Sometimes this separation is very difficult and it is necessary to resort to a dopa-mine scan. In Parkinson’s the cerebral dopamine is diminished while in the other tremors it is not.
How is Parkinson’s disease treated?
The medical treatment of Parkinson’s disease is based on drugs that increase cerebral dopamine. These drugs in the initial phases are administered orally, but in more advanced phases they are sometimes administered subcutaneously or even intra-intestinal. In advanced stages we also have surgical therapies such as deep brain stimulation. This treatment consists of the implantation of electrodes in the brain connected to an electrical stimulator. This treatment has had a very important impact on the quality of life of patients, but it should only be used in those patients in whom oral medical treatment is not effective. It should be remembered that complementary therapies such as physiotherapy, rehabilitation or speech therapy, for example, are also very useful and necessary for a comprehensive treatment of the disease.
Can its progression be delayed?
To delay its progression, there are currently several studies with anti-synuclein vaccines that aim to reduce the concentration of this protein in the brain. We believe that these therapies will result in a slowing of the disease. In any case, slowing down or curing Parkinson’s disease is the most important research challenge we have today.