A layperson’s guide to the symptoms of Parkinsons

Many of the symptoms of Parkinsons are quite similar to those of other neurological disorders; this makes it difficult to diagnose Parkinson’s disease.

However, certain symptoms are more common to this condition than to other types of disorders — such symptoms are considered to be very ‘Parkinsonian’.

The brain utilizes a chemical called dopamine. This chemical assists in the transmission of electrochemical messages along the neural pathways connecting the brain to body parts such as the limbs. Symptoms of Parkinsons occur when there is significant loss of dopamine in the brain.

As a result, the brain’s signals to the limbs initiating and controlling body movements gets interrupted or scrambled. This makes physical movement difficult for the affected person. This results in many of the typical symptoms of Parkinson’s like slow movement, rigidity, etc.

The unfortunate fact is that many people who have this dreaded disease are not diagnosed correctly until about 80% or more of the dopamine in the brain has been lost. At that stage, it is extremely difficult to halt the progress of the disease or to treat its symptoms. Patients whose dopamine loss is detected early have a much better chance of leading a near-normal life for a longer period of time.

Let’s take a look at some of the common symptoms of Parkinsons disease.

Problems with balance
Persons with advanced Parkinson’s disease often find it difficult to maintain proper balance while walking. One reason for this is that they lose the ability to move their hands and legs freely like they used to do earlier.

For instance, while walking, a healthy person swings his arms. This movement of arms is impaired or difficult for patients with Parkinson’s disease. As a result, their body balance during walking is compromised.

Walking difficulties
Patients with this condition cannot use their limbs effectively to walk in a natural fashion. This makes it difficult for them to walk long distances. Those with advanced stages of the disease find that their ability to walk is reduced to a shuffle, which is a characteristic of this disease.

Depression
Many people who have this disease suffer from depression; hence this is listed as one of the symptoms of Parkinsons. However, it is unclear whether the depression is caused by the chemical changes initiated by the disease or whether patients become depressed because of their loss of natural abilities.

Depression is a fairly common condition among Parkinson’s disease sufferers.

Dementia
As with depression, researchers are nuclear whether dementia is a part of the disease’s progression or whether those patients who exhibit dementia would have developed the condition anyway even if they did not have Parkinson’s disease.

Many people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease have dementia. However, many others who have advanced stage Parkinson’s do not have dementia.

Constipation
The signals that travel between the brain and the gut do not get transmitted properly in Parkinson’s patients. As a result, they have swallowing difficulties as well as a reduced appetite. They consume only minimal amounts of food and fluids unless they are encouraged to do so. Constipation is one of the results of this set of problems.

There are other common symptoms of Parkinsons as well. They include:

  • Postural irregularities, including stooping
  • Monotonous and soft speech
  • Loss of libido
  • Unexplained loss of sense of smell
  • A constant feeling of tiredness / fatigue
  • Anxiety attacks
  • Difficulty sleeping / disturbed sleep
  • Dizziness

Being aware of these symptoms of Parkinsons can help detect the condition early in others. Seeking medical attention at an early stage is critically important in dealing with Parkinson’s disease.

Filed under: Parkinson's disease

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