{"id":15586,"date":"2023-05-26T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/?p=15586"},"modified":"2023-05-19T12:59:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T16:59:58","slug":"can-doctors-spot-parkinsons-before-patients-show-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/article\/can-doctors-spot-parkinsons-before-patients-show-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Doctors Spot Parkinson\u2019s Before Patients Show Symptoms?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In addition to earlier diagnosis, a new technique<\/a> might enable doctors to fashion better treatment plans for early stage Parkinson\u2019s Disease (PD). Alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (SAA) looks for abnormal protein deposits in the brain which are linked to Parkinson\u2019s disease. Because these proteins begin building up long before symptoms develop, this analysis could mean detection at much earlier stages. The SAA had a 95 percent accuracy rate<\/a>. For some types of Parkinson\u2019s disease, accuracy rates exceeded 96 percent<\/a>. \u201cOur results show that the assay classifies people with Parkinson\u2019s disease with high sensitivity and specificity, provides information about molecular heterogeneity, and detects prodromal individuals before diagnosis,\u201d the researchers concluded. \u201cThese findings suggest a crucial role for the \u03b1-synuclein SAA in therapeutic development, both to identify pathologically defined subgroups of people with Parkinson\u2019s disease and to establish biomarker-defined at-risk cohorts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Parkinson\u2019s Disease<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As is normally the case with chronic, serious illnesses, doctors suspect that a combination of environmental and genetic factors causes PD. As nerve cells deteriorate, patients experience motor skill difficulties, like trembling hands, stiffening muscles, and shuffling feet. Later, mental symptoms appear, mostly dementia. Since the early 2000s, the PD death rate has increased 63 percent<\/a>. This stunning rise suggests that the disease may be more of an environmental issue. Researchers speculate that the aforementioned dying nerve cells affect the dopamine supply in the basal ganglia, an area of the brain that controls many neurological and motor skill functions. Currently PD has no cure. A few available medications, such as MAO-B inhibitors and dopamine agonists manage the symptoms, at least temporarily. As the disease advances, these drugs become less effective. Experimental surgery may reduce symptoms when drugs start failing, but once again, this surgery doesn\u2019t cure PD; it just gives patients a little more time. Overall, PD\u2019s most recognizable symptoms<\/a> include tremors, bradykinesia (complete loss of muscle movement), rigidity, and shuffling\/stooped gait. Non-motor symptoms, including autonomic dysfunction (dysautonomia), neuropsychiatric problems (mood, cognition, behavior or thought alterations), sensory (especially altered sense of smell), and sleep difficulties may be present as well. More severe symptoms such as dementia, psychosis, orthostasis, and serious falls occur later. Exercise reduces the risk of PD. Preliminary studies<\/a> indicate that ibuprofen and similar drugs may stave off this disease as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parkinson\u2019s Disease and Environmental Toxins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Certain environmental toxins have greater negative health effects than others. Some of these toxins include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n