Neurological Diseases

elenamammas
Apr 9, 2021
2 min read

Today's blog post is all about neurological disorders. Neurological disorders are diseases of the brain, spine, and the nerves that connect them. There are over 600 different types of diseases of the nervous system. Today, we'll be looking at Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Parkinson's Disease

What is Parkinson's Disease?

Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement. This disease affects dopamine-producing neurons in a specific area of the brain called the substantia nigra.

Symptoms

Parkinson's disease symptoms may vary from person to person. The most common symptoms include:

Trembling of hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face
Stiffness of the arms and legs
Slower movement
Poor balance
Speech difficulty

Causes

It is known that Parkinson's disease is caused due to a severe lack of dopamine secreting neurons in the brain. However, the exact cause for this damage is still unknown.

Treatments

This disease cannot be cured. However, medications can help control symptoms. In certain cases, surgery is recommended.

Some medications include:

Dopamine precursor: a drug that passes through the brain and gets converted into dopamine.
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors: inhibits the action of catechol-O-methyl transferase, which is an enzyme that is involved in degrading neurotransmitters.
Dopamine agonists: activates dopamine receptors.

Therapy:

Physical therapy can help with balance and mobility problems and occupational therapy can help with day to day activities, such as eating and reading.

Alzheimer's Disease

What is Alzheimer's Disease?

Alzheimer's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that destroys brain cells, which causes memory, reasoning skills, and thinking ability to worsen over time.