Parkinson's disease is defined as a health condition associated to the depletion of dopamine in the corpus striatum as a result of neuron loss in the substantianigra. The disease most often occurs in the middle age and beyond.
1. Symptoms
a. Tremble involuntarily.
b. Stiffness of the muscles
c. Tremor at rest
d. Spontaneous movements
e. Numbness, tingling, itchiness or discomfort of the neck or limbs
f. Etc.
2. Rick factors
a. Age
The levels of dopamine starts decline with age, but in some people it declines faster resulting in Parkinson's disease.
b. Gender
Although no one know why men are at higher risk than women to get PD but some researchers suspect it may be due to hormone estrogen which protects against the declining of dopamine neurons.
c. Genetics
If one of your relative in direct family has or had PD, then your chances of getting PD are increased due to gene abnormality or alternation.
d. Toxins
Excessive exposure to industrial toxic chemical toxin due to occupation or increase the risk of the development of Parkinson's disease. Researchers found that people who live in a rural agricultural area and used well water for drinking and cooking with heavily used of toxic chemicals were at risk to have higher rate.
f. Drugs
Drugs not only damage our nervous system, they also increase the risk for PD as they contributes to the declining of dopamine producing neurons in the brain.
g. Etc.
3. Free Radicals and Parkinson's disease
Researcher found that patients with Parkinson's disease have low levels of polyunsaturated fat in the substania nigra than other part of the brain, but higher levels of lipid peroxidation as indication of higher levels of malonaldehyde.
Also patients with the disease found to contain waste pigments of lipofusion and other polymers in the neurons where dopamine is most active.
4. Antioxidants and Parkinson's disease
Antioxidants play an vital role for patients with Parkinson's disease, as researchers found the prohression of the disease accompany with reduction of antioxidants in the affected parts of the brain.
a. Superoxide dismutase
Researcher found that the progression of the disease may be associated with the decrease levels of superoxide dismutase, a antioxidant enzyme.
b. NADH ubiquinone reductase
Researcher found that the levels of NADH ubiquinone reductase is decreased in the substania nigra due to its inhibitors, leading to apoptosis, but can be retreated with antioxidants Nacetylcysteine and alpha lipoic acid.
c. Uric acid
Researchers at the University of Hawaii recently reported that people with a high blood level of the natural antioxidant uric acid have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease than do people with lower levels, but high levels of uric acid increases the risk of kidney diseases and gout.
d. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of powerful and effective antioxidant in scavenging hydroxyl radicals as it enters the cerebrospinal fluid thus protecting against Parkinson's disease or slowing down the progression of the disease.
e. Glutathione
Researcher found that glutathoine is one of the antioxidant which can help to deactivate the harmful product HNE of lipid peroxidation.
f. Etc.
