The Harsh Reality of Parkinson’s Disease

THE HARSH REALITY OF PA R K I N S O N ’ S DISEASE

- Marios Politis -

The Harsh Reality of Parkinson’s Disease

Despite the drastic leaps in medical understanding of Parkinson’s, there still remains a considerable gap between research

Symptoms of Parkinson’s can vary from insomnia to severe tremors.

Many of these can be managed

and symptom prevention. Day-to-day life can

via healthy doses of medication,

be volatile, with some days feeling like uphill

though daily pills can come with

battles against the neurological condition.

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downsides of their own.

Medication: A Delicate Tightrope Walk Symptoms of Parkinson’s can vary from insomnia to severe tremors. Many of these can be managed via healthy doses of medication, though daily pills can come with downsides of their own.

For example, the introduction of Levodopa

writhing motion observed in the face or limbs

changed many Parksinson’s sufferers’ lives.

of the sufferer. Movements can range from fluid

Now, even severe tremors can be dulled down

and dancelike, to rapid, painful jerking.

by the dopamine-creating drug. A side effect of taking Levodopa is nausea. However, this can be nullified with the further addition of carbidopa, an anti-nausea medication.

Alongside dyskinesias, the extra dopamine entering the brain has been observed to cause slight personality changes, usually manifesting as sudden impulsiveness. Close

Taking this combined medication over a long

friends and family of the sufferer occasionally

period of time, whilst battling PD and its

remark on sudden onsets of binge-eating,

unpleasant symptoms, has its own dangers.

becoming a ‘shop-a-holic’ or forming an

It can cause dyskinesias, which is an erratic,

addiction to gambling.

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