Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive abnormality of the central nervous system and it affects millions of people worldwide. PD is caused when neurons, a kind of nerve cells in the brain gradually break down or die. Infact, the symptoms experienced by a PD patient are due to a loss of neurons that produce a chemical messenger in your brain called dopamine. Thus, when dopamine levels decrease, it causes signs of Parkinson’s disease.

Signs & Symptoms

Parkinson’s disease signs and symptoms include:

Tremor or shaking of limbs/ hands
Slowed body movements
Muscle stiffness
Decreased ability to perform unconscious movements, including blinking, smiling, smelling and writing
Speech changes
Depression
Sleep disturbances

Causes

The cause of Parkinson’s is unknown, but several factors including environmental factors like exposure to certain toxins or specific genetic mutations appear to play a role. It is also linked to the formation of clumps of a protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain. These abnormal protein clumps are called Lewy bodies.

Diagnosis

A Neurologist will diagnose Parkinson’s disease based on the patient’s medical history, a review of their signs and symptoms, and a neurological and physical examination. There isn’t a specific confirmatory test for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.

Treatment

PD can’t be cured with medications, surgery and lifestyle changes due to the neurodegenerative and progressive nature of the disease. Patients are also treated with occupational therapy, physiotherapy and exercise to improve their quality of life.

Stem Cell Therapy: Stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease is a treatment approach that involves using stem cells, which are undifferentiated cells that can develop into various types of specialized cells, to replace or repair damaged or lost cells in the brain associated with Parkinson’s disease.Stem cell therapy is the use of stem cells, usually from a donor, but sometimes from the patient’s own body to replace destroyed brain cells with healthy, undifferentiated stem cells.