Diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease

Good day Martians. Here’s a piece of good news for you. The Northern Lights have travelled to space and we are expecting an exciting performance by them in the night sky of Mars. Do catch their performance “The Dazzling Lights” tonight, at 9pm. This piece of news is brought to you by the Mars’ biochemistry channel 101.

Back to the hot topic on Parkinson’s disease, the Martians researchers have come up with ways to diagnose Parkinson’s disease.

A family physician helps in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Patients can also receive help from disorder specialist such as neurologist to assess and treat patients with Parkinson’s disease as neurologist are more experienced and are well trained. 
The physician diagnose Parkinson's disease based on patient's medical history, sign and symptoms re-evaluation as well as the examination of patient’s neurological and physical state.  

·         Physician looks to see if there are animated       expressions.

·         Tremor of arms observed, which is present either at rest or extended

·         Is there stiffness in limbs or neck?

·         Ability to rise from a chair easily

·         Ability to regain balance

A Parkinson’s disease medication called the Carbidopa-levodopa may be prescribed by doctor. The conformation of diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is based on the improvement after given the medication. Enough doses must be consumed to show the benefit as low doses may not be reliable. Drug should be consume on an empty stomach or at least an hour before meal. Follow up appointments with physician for the evaluation of conditions and symptoms may be recommended to patients by doctors as the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease takes time.

Other additional testing are in cooperated to eliminate other disease which mimic Parkinson’s disease, such as stroke or hydrocephalus. Even an experienced neurologist may find it hard to confirm very mild cases of Parkinson’s disease as there are many other neurological problems which are similar to the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. 

Standard diagnostic tests are unavailable for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

                              

                                     

The Martian researchers are still working to develop an accurate “biological marker”, such as blood testing. Up to now, specialized brain scanning methods are the best objective for the testing of Parkinson’s disease. Such technique can measure the dopamine system and brain metabolism.

Be sure to catch the Northern lights performance. Have a good week end ahead fellow Martians!

GOOD AFTERNOON MARTIANS
 

What a beautiful day it is today for a family outing. The meteorite showers are gone and Milky Way can be seen during the night time and the Sun is shining ever so brightly in the daytime.

We have retrieved new information from the Martian aliens that we have send down to Earth to assist the Humans with the Parkinson’s disease research.

However, sadly to say, there are currently still no preventions against Parkinson’s disease. But, research have shown that eating certain types of food may provide some protection against Parkinson’s disease. 

Here are some recommended food

                   

1)    Fruits and vegetables

- Preferably fresh and raw vegetables as research have found out that inadequate amount of B vitamin folate, also known as folic acid, may increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Fresh, raw vegetables are a brilliant source of folic acid.

2)    High-fiber food

-         Veggies such as corn, celery, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower

-         Fruits such as berries, raisins, bananas and strawberries

-         Beans, nuts and seeds such as almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds

-         Whole wheat and multigrain food such as brown rice and oats

3)    Avoid excess iron and manganese

-         Eating a diet that contains too much iron can increase one’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease as Iron contributes to oxidative stress, which causes the cells to release toxic substances which is also known as free radicals. Oxidative stress can contribute to the degeneration of brain cells found in Parkinson’s disease.

-         Manganese can also be harmful at excessive levels and can contribute to oxidative stress in the body. High amounts of manganese reduces the serotonin and dopamine production.

4)    Increase Omega 3 essential fat intake

-         A small placebo controlled trial reported significantly greater improvement of depression in Parkinson’s patients treated with omega 3 essential fats.

-         Fatty fishes such as salmon, tuna and mackerel are rich in Omega 3.

Besides eating healthily, research have also shown that doing vigorous exercises few times every week may have to reduce or slow down Parkinson’s disease.

There are currently no cures for Parkinson’s disease but medication and therapy is used to treat its symptoms. Therapies and treatments depends on the symptoms of the patients.

Since most symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are caused by the lack of dopamine in the brain, many Parkinson’s drugs are aimed at either temporarily replenishing dopamine or mimic the action of dopamine. These type of drugs are called dopaminergic. These medications generally help to reduce muscle rigidity and tremor, improve speed and coordination of movement. 

Besides taking medications, there are also some surgical procedures that can help to reduce Parkinson’s disease symptoms. 

Deep brain stimulation

-         Electrodes are implanted into a specific part of the patient’s brain. The electrodes are connected to a generator that is implanted in the patient’s chest near the collarbone that sends electrical pulses to the patient’s brain, therefore reducing the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

-         Deep brain stimulation is mostly offered to people with advanced Parkinson’s disease who have unstable medication responses.

-         Deep brain stimulation can help to reduce muscle rigidity and tremor, improve speed and coordination of movement.

-         However, deep brain stimulation is not really helpful as it does not prevent Parkinson’s disease from progressing. The most it can do is to slow down the symptoms of the disease. 

That is all the information that we have gathered from our Martian researchers on Earth. So Martians, do remember to eat as healthily as possible from today onwards.