Deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease - Symptoms & Treatment

Introduction

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination. It is a brain disorder affecting the overall quality of a patient’s life by producing symptoms like -

• Difficulty in walking

• Difficulty in talking

• Insomnia

• Depression

• Tiredness

• Memory problems.

The disease shows men’s predilection and symptoms develop after the age of 60 years and gradually professes towards severity.

What is the cause of Parkinson's disease?

 

This is related to dopamine and norepinephrine.

The main cause of Parkinson’s disease is less dopamine production due to damage to the nerve cells in the basal ganglia. Nerve cells normally produce dopamine but when they get damaged or die, less dopamine is produced due to which the symptoms of the disease appear like movement problems.

The nerve endings producing norepinephrine are also lost in Parkinson’s disease.

Norepinephrine is the main chemical messenger which controls important functions of the body like heart rate and Blood pressure, it is the main messenger of the sympathetic nervous system. Due to a deficiency of norepinephrine, patients with Parkinson’s disease experience symptoms like fatigue, irregular blood pressure, and sudden fluctuations in blood pressure.

Unusual clumps of proteins called Lewy bodies are found in the brain cells of Parkinson’s disease patients.

Researchers say that Parkinson’s disease results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?

The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are:

• Tremors: Patients with Parkinson’s disease experience tremors in their hands, legs, and jaw.

• Stiffness: The patient may experience contracted muscles for a long time. Lead-pipe rigidity and cogwheel stiffness are common in those suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

• Loss of balance and coordination: The patient is prone to falls.

• Bradykinesia: This refers to slowed movements due to muscle weakness and loss of strength.

• A tremor while muscles are at rest: This refers to the rhythmic shaking of muscles even when they are at rest and not in use.

• Frequent Blinking and drooling: Those suffering from Parkinson’s disease have less control of facial muscles due to which they blink more frequently than normal. Drooling is also a symptom due to loss of control of facial muscles.

• Mask-like facial expression. This is also called hypomimia.

• Difficulty in swallowing: This is due to reduced control over the throat muscle.

• Hypophonia: This refers to an unusually soft voice due to reduced muscle control in the throat and chest.

• Depression

• Constipation

Why does Parkinson’s disease affect the quality of a patient’s life?

 

Parkinson’s disease adversely affects the quality of a patient’s life. Initially, the tremors are mild. Family members start noticing the patient's symptoms when they find it difficult to perform routine daily activities, there are changes in the voice and the face seems to be expressionless.

The symptoms begin in one side of the face but then they start affecting both sides.

The quality of life becomes poorer when the patient starts experiencing stress and depression due to lack of sleep, memory changes, difficulty in movements, and restlessness.

The symptoms become severe with time and the patient cannot plan and accomplish even a normal daily task.

With time, the efficacy of medicine also reduces. The dosage of medicine cannot be increased further due to the risk of increased side effects. At this time, advanced treatments like deep brain stimulation are promising.

How Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed?

 

Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed by:

• Signs and symptoms.

• Neurological examination.

How Parkinson’s disease is treated?

 

 

The drugs used in Parkinson's disease stimulates dopamine production, slow down the breakdown of dopamine and reduce symptoms like tremor, rigidity, and involuntary movements.

The various treatment modalities for Parkinson’s disease include:

• Levodopa is the main drug of treatment for Parkinson’s disease. It is taken with carbidopa to reduce the side effects of levodopa.

• Dopamine

• Enzyme inhibitors like MAO-B inhibitors, and COMT inhibitors.

• Amantadine

• Anticholinergic drugs

What is Deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease?

When patients with Parkinson’s disease do not respond well to the medications, then DBS or deep brain stimulation is recommended.

In this procedure, the electrode is implanted ( brain) and connected to a small electrical device implanted in the chest. The specific areas of the brain are stimulated. This procedure is painless and highly effective in improving the symptoms and reducing medication dosage for Parkinson’s disease.

Message from Yapita Health

With the advent of technology and advancement in medications, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can be improved. One such example is using deep brain stimulation. The efficacy of treatment results gets doubled when it is performed by an experienced neurologist and the patient is regularly monitored in follow-up visits. Our Neurologists are highly specialized in treating cases of Parkinson’s disease using deep brain stimulation.

Contact us for more details.

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