About Parkinsons

Carlo Morelli asked:


That diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease can be frightening is certain. It’s a serious malady that, if left unchecked, can end in debilitating changes to one’s body. Nonetheless, advances in medical treatment in combination with some basic lifestyle changes can significantly lessen the impact of Parkinson’s disease.
Your diagnosing physician is always a valuable first resource. He or she can advise someone diagnosed with Parkinson’s about treatments and what to expect physiologicaly. Thanks to increased awareness brought about in part by actor Michael J. Fox’s disclosure that he lives with Parkinson’s and the subsequent creation of his foundation, and also due to new advances in stem cell research and other therapies, a lot of information about Parkinson’s disease is now available to the public.
Many countries have national associations with regional headquarters helping people with Parkinson’s.
Here is a list of six tips that will make living with Parkinson’s disease easier.
1. Exercise: Parkinson’s disease impacts your mobility, so it is important that people with Parkinson’s make certain their bodies are as strong and flexible as possible. Simple activities like stretching, walking, running, and swimming are ideal to build strength. If exercising by yourself doesn’t sound much fun, look into group classes, community walking clubs, or water-aerobics sessions. Many communities have low-cost facilities, equipment, space and instruction where necessary. Special classes which take particular conditions into consideration are also commonly available.
2. Diet: nutritional health is essential for strength and vitality no matter what your health situation. Through eating right, Parkinson’s patients can steady their energy and better control their weight, which can have a big effect on struggling muscles. Check with a physician to establish whether diet could have an adverse effect on medication. Case in point- high-protein foods may interfere with absorption of medications. Keeping a food journal can be an invaluable tool in pinpointing problems with medication.
3. Wardrobe: Parkinson’s reduces motor skills, which can make buttoning of shirts and pants, or doing up a bra difficult. Go for loose (but not flapping) clothing with elastic waists, pull-on shirts and dresses and a minimum of buttons, zippers, hooks and ties, as well as slip-on or Velcro-fastened shoes. This may not be required in the early stages of the disease, but will become important later on.
4. Compensating tactics: strategize about ways to overcome problems associated with Parkinson’s disease, like dropping things. For instance, Parkinson’s patients find they may often drop their wallets when fumbling for change.
To counteract this problem, buy a large wallet that is easy to grip and doesn’t send you digging into deep corners. Using a debit or credit card may be an easier alternative to searching for coins and bills. Another example of a helpful compensating strategy would be to switch from delicate porcelain tableware to more durable shatter-proof or plastic pieces.
5. Take naps: Parkinson’s can interfere with restorative sleep, even though many people who have the disease suffer from fatigue. Take a short nap a couple times a day to keep your energy up.
6. Be understanding: medical treatment and lifestyle changes can do a lot to minimize Parkinson’s symptoms, but it’s likely that people will notice things like tremors or tics at some point. Children, in particular, may ask blunt questions. Try not to be offended, and when possible, use it as a chance to educate about Parkinson’s and its effects.

Katherine

Clive Jenkins asked:


The onset of Parkinsons disease is a tragic time for any patient and their families. As a degenerative condition, patients suffering from the condition are faced with no hope of recovery, but rather a slow and wearing process of loss of movement and co-ordination. Most notably, the condition involves the tremor, whereby patients can be seen trembling uncontrollably, as well as loss in speech capabilities and gradually all functionality in its later stages.
Parkinsons disease is a disorder which takes effect on the central nervous system. A movement disorder, Parkinson’s can be seen in four major symptoms; namely rigidity of muscles, a tremor of movement, slowing of overall movement (known as bradykinesia) and in certain instances loss of movement altogether. The symptoms gradually become more and more apparent in sufferers, and are progressive, that is patients do not recover, or get better. This degenerative condition is not contagious, nor passed genetically, and very little is known about the causes of most instances of the condition. Having said that, some cases can be explained through extreme drug abuse, cranial damage and other abuses of the body which have been shown to give rise to the condition.
The condition occurs as a result of the loss or destruction of brain cells which produce dopamine, a chemical associated with muscle activity. This chronic condition was first discovered and charted by James Parkinson in 1817, and concerns what he labelled as his patient’s ’shaking palsy’.
A disease which has been a mystery to scientists and physicians across the world since its discovery, Parkinsons disease has no known cure, although there are ways to treat it and perhaps stall its development. Additionally, there are a number of support groups for both sufferers and carers, providing some much needed reassurance that all is not lost, and there are still ways to work to help the condition, which can sometimes feel like a distant fantasy.
A particularly crushing aspect of the disease is the impact it can have on a patient’s everyday life. The simplest of physical tasks become impossible, leaving the sufferer eventually in need of round the clock care and attention. There is a present no way of knowing who will develop the disease, or to what extent, although reassuringly, scientists the world over are desperately trying to expand their knowledge of the condition and look for other treatments, and possibly even the elusive cure.
Sadly, for patients with Parkinsons today, there is no real way out, and it’s best to try and remain as active and involved as possible in the normal daily routine to keep up morale, and keep the patient interested in life. Such a demoralising condition as Parkinsons requires a lot of patience, and it can be particularly hard and frustrating to see a family member descend into such a state. There are however, a variety of ways to significantly reduce the effects of the condition, and it is advisable for anyone worried about themselves or friend or family member to consult their physician for more information on the condition and what can be done to curb its onset.

Aaron

Jeremy Parker asked:


Many sufferers of Parkinson’s disease quickly find that various aspects of their life are no longer controllable in the way that they used to be however by exercising regularly Parkinson sufferers can continue to control their gross movements i.e. walking, holding objects etc. for longer which adds a mental and emotional boost to their wellbeing. Research has shown that exercise may also improve the synthesis of dopamine in the brain and increase the levels of neurotrophic factors which are beneficial compounds.

Exercise for people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease incorporates muscle strengthening, flexibility and toning activities so that muscles and joints stay flexible and strong. It is normal for a physiotherapist to implement an exercise schedule for the patient that includes a range of activities to work all muscles of the body over a two or three day period. So for example, day one of the cycle may include walking and strengthening exercises for the arms and hands whereas day two might be a yoga class where flexibility of the joints is the main focus.

It is essential to monitor the patient’s progress, not only so that any improvements and decreases in function are recorded but also as a stimulus for the patient; when people see improvement and can visualise the effort that they put in they are much more positive about continuing the regime.

In general exercise should test the entire body and not just the limbs so that posture and movement is maintained for as long as possible. Good posture is essential in the later stages of Parkinson’s disease because stooping can hamper breathing and swallowing. Exercises for posture include callisthenics, yoga, Pilates, tai chi, and swimming however not every sufferer will enjoy these types of activities. Simply sitting upright while reading a book or watching TV and walking with a straight back will also help though, thus walking the dog or playing with the children or grandchildren are great ways to work the body muscles and to enjoy daily exercising.

Regular exercise for the Parkinson’s sufferer will reduce the incidence of muscle cramps, rigidity of the joints and the aches and pains associated with staying still for long periods of time. Also, because exercise helps the sufferer to maintain control over many of their gross movements (although maybe not the tremors) it gives them a heightened sense of achievement and so stress and anxiety levels remain low. Keeping a positive mental attitude is incredibly important in conditions like Parkinson’s disease where sufferer can very easily become frustrated and discouraged with their predicament.

As with all exercise routines, the patient should start with a good warm up followed by the exercise activity of their choice or which has been scheduled for that day, and then they should finish with a positive cool down so that the chances of developing muscle cramps and injuries are greatly reduced. An exercise session should ideally last around 15-20 minutes and should not by any means exhaust the patient. Overexertion can be equally as damaging to a Parkinson’s sufferer as no exercise at all.

In order to make daily exercise more appealing and less of a chore it may be worth trying to find a friend or relative that is willing to exercise with the patient. Also, a bit of variety in the type of exercise will not only mean that the exercise stays interesting but it will also ensure that all muscles and joints of the body are used to a satisfactory level.

Rosa

j5kat13 asked:


anyone? please I really need one!

Louise

Linda Parkinson-Hardman asked:


Last month you were introduced to just a few of the ways in which you could get your brand new business up and running for minimal cost but with maximum exposure. However, with the best will in the world, there are some businesses that just need to have their own website.

Many small businesses fall into one of three camps when it comes to their own online piece of real estate; they have either had a son, sister or friend build a site as a favour; they might have bought something like Front Page and tried to do it themselves or they have paid a web design company to do it for them - and then continue paying every time they want to update something.

In this article, I’d like to introduce you to a completely different approach to setting up your own website, one that could be done in a matter of hours, which looks highly polished and professional from day one, is easy to change and update whenever you want to, but more importantly is very low cost. When you are ready to take it to the next stage, it is also easy to move and develop.

To set up a website, you need to have the following things in place:

1. a website address (URL or domain name to those techno-bods amongst us)

2. some space on a computer that is permanently linked to the Internet (this is called hosting).

You can purchase your web address from almost anywhere, the company I use is called Namesco and a URL from them will cost around £12 for the first two years.

As for the online hosting space, I’d like to suggest you check out a service called wordpress.com. Their mission in life is to provide you with a free website that you can point your brand new web address towards. Now, before those of you who are more technically aware start saying ‘but that is ‘blog software’ - I’d like to point out that a blog is just a website by any other name and actually wordpress is hugely powerful content management software that I use to run my own websites.

So, visit wordpress.com and set up an account, when you are offered the option of creating just an account or being given a blog - check the box that say’s ‘gimme a blog’. Login to your account and start by choosing a look and feel for your new website, bear in mind that this isn’t set in stone and can be changed on a whim at any later date you wish. With some themes you can also change logo’s so you could add your own if you want to.

When you have sorted out how you want the site to look, you can then start adding information to it. I’d suggest you EDIT the About page to give some information about your business, and then create a Contact Us page with your business address and telephone number. You can edit pages by clicking on Manage and then Pages.

You will then need to make your About page your new home page - that is the page that first time visitors to your site will see first. To do this, you need to click on Settings and then on Reading. Under Front Page Displays, select the button next to Static Page and use the drop down menu next to Front Page to find your About page. Don’t forget to keep using the View Site button to see how it all looks and don’t forget, if you make a mistake you can easily change it!

If you would like a quick start guide to using wordpress why not visit my website growabetterbusiness.co.uk and get one today!

Patricia

Linda Parkinson-Hardman asked:


 
In my last article I began a process of introducing you to the questions you needed to ask before you started selling online. In this article we get down and dirty and actually begin creating something that will allow you to have your first products up for sale in a matter of just a few days.
Don’t worry, we aren’t doing any too complicated or difficult, in fact this is going to be one of the easiest ways to sell online that you will ever find. There are two ways to run your own shop online, you can either buy software like Actinic and have it hosted on your own piece of virtual real-estate (your web address in other words) or, you can use a fully hosted service. Having tried many different methods over the years, I have come to the conclusion that most small businesses are better off using a fully hosted service.
Of course, there are monthly fees associated with this method, but when you take out the hassle factor plus up-front costs it is very cost effective and is normally a much quicker route to market than building something from scratch. So, we are going to look at just one of the UK based online shopping carts - Shop Creator - and you don’t need to worry about it being good enough, as it is used by companies and organisations like BHS, the Science Museum and the RSPB. Even better, is the fact that they have various levels of service and the most basic means that you only have to pay them when you have made a sale and as your site grows there is the ability to change the package you use.
So, let’s get started by popping along to ShopCreator.com. When you get there click on the red button in the top right portion of the site that says ‘Sign Up For A Free Shop Now’. Fill in your details and when you have clicked on the ‘Create Online Store’ button, you will be sent an email asking you to click on a link that confirms your email address is genuine. Once you have done this, you’ll receive your username and password for your new online store.
When you login to your new shop, you will be presented with the home page and if you scroll down, you will see that there are a number of actions you need to complete, as you do each one you can tick to show that it has been completed. Next to each one is a handy little video link which will show you exactly how to do what you are required to do for that action.
Before you get started adding products though, it would be wise to have your product images available. Product images need to be saved in a jpeg format and should be smaller than about 25KB. Try to save them as a consistent size as this will help the final layout to look more professional when you come to publish your new shop, a good size to use is between 300 and 400 pixels wide for the main image, and 100 pixels wide or high for the thumbnails (the smaller pictures that are used in the categories).
One of the things I really like about Shop Creator is that it is so easy to use, you can go back and amend things until they are right and you don’t have to pay for anything until you are ready to start trading online. Just one suggestion though, don’t worry too much about the final look and feel of the site, as it will be work just fine until you feel ready to start creating it’s own unique personality.
In my next article, I’ll be taking a look at how you can allow your customers to pay for your products and services online, with freely available and easy to use services that work seamlessly with the Shop Creator system.

Arthur

Juliet Cohen asked:


Parkinson’s Disease is a disease mostly affecting middle-aged and elderly people characterized by tremors and rigid, slow movement. It is also known as PD or Parkinson disease. Early symptoms of PD are subtle and occur gradually. Parkinson’s disease belongs to a group of conditions called movement disorders. The disease is both chronic, meaning it persists over a long period of time, and progressive, meaning its symptoms grow worse over time. Parkinson’s disease was named after Scottish physician James Parkinson, who published a description of the condition. Cardinal features include resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability. In some people the disease progresses more quickly than in others. It is characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement ( bradykinesia ), and in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement ( akinesia ). PD usually affects people over the age of 50. The risk of PD increases with age, so analysts expect the financial and public health impact of this disease to increase as the population gets older. In Parkinson’s, cells are destroyed in part of the brain stem - the substantia nigra, which sends out fibers to the corpus stratia, gray and white bands of tissue in both sides of the brain. Parkinson’s disease is called idiopathic Parkinson’s because the cause is unknown. In the other forms of parkinsonism, a cause is known or suspected.

Causes of Parkinson’s disease

The common causes and risk factor’s of Parkinson’s disease include the following:

The exact cause of Parkinson’s disease is not known.

Pesticides or other chemicals.

A combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Environmental toxins.

Proximity to industrial plants or quarries.

Exposure to an environmental toxin. .

Having one or more close relatives with Parkinson’s.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

Some sign and symptoms related to Parkinson’s disease are as follows:

Loss of automatic movements.

Fatigue.

Difficulty swallowing.

Nightmares.

Depression.

Micrographia (small, cramped handwriting).

Difficulty walking or buttoning clothes.

Tremor.

Slowed motion (bradykinesia).

Treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Here is list of the methods for treating Parkinson’s disease:

Parlodel is a useful drug for Parkinson’s disease.

Tolcapone

Pramipexole.

Trihexyphenidyl.

Selegiline (Eldepryl): This drug, used with or without carbidopa-levodopa therapy, helps prevent the breakdown of both naturally occurring dopamine and dopamine formed from levodopa.

Other treatment approaches, including general lifestyle modifications (rest and exercise), physical therapy, speech therapy, will be covered in Maintaining Optimal Wellness.

Various forms of surgical treatment are available to control movement disorders when medications are ineffective.

Jackie

Phil L asked:


My Dad is almost 88 years old with Parkinsons and dementia. He came over after his wife died on a visitors visa 4 years ago and it soon became apparent that he could not care for himself. We have managed to take care of him so far but now he is beyond home care. He has no money and his farm (7000 acres) was taken by Mugabe. Both his pensions and medical aid from Zimbabwe have been discontinued.

Mathew

rosetigra asked:


My husband has 3 male members on his fathers side of the family who have had this disease (including his father) . We have only just found out so we are trying to find out how much at risk the other family members are.

Bernice

Raymond Lee asked:


Parkinson’s disease results from damage to the nerves in the area of the brain that is responsible for controlling muscle tension and movement – the basal ganglia. The damaged cells are the ones needed to produce the neurotransmitter called dopamine. The disease usually begins as a slight tremor of one hand, arm, or leg. In the early stages the tremors are more apparent while the person is at rest, such as while sitting or standing, and are less noticeable when the hand or limb is being used. A typical symptom of Parkinson’s disease is “pill rolling,” in which the person appears to be rolling a pill back and forth between the fingers. As the disease progresses, symptoms often get worse. The tremors and weakness affect the limbs on both sides of the body. The hands and the head may shake continuously. The person may walk with stiff, shuffling steps. In many cases, the disease causes a permanent rigid stooped posture and an unblinking, fixed expression.

There is no cure for Parkinson’s, but symptoms are often improved by drug therapy. The most popular drug used is Sinemet, which contains two key ingredients: levodopa and carbidopa. Levodopa, or L-dopa, is the middle step in the conversion of the amino acid tyrosine into dopamine. L-dopa, but not dopamine, crosses the blood-brain barrier. Carbidopa is a drug that works by ensuring that more L-dopa is converted to dopamine within the brain, where it is needed, and not within the other tissues of the body. Other drugs used include Eldepryl, bromocriptine, and amantadine. Certain medications can also help control tremors.

The value of a low-protein diet in enhancing the action of L-dopa has been demonstrated in several clinical studies, and such a diet is now a well-accepted supportive therapy. The usual recommendation is to eliminate major sources of dietary protein from protein from breakfast and lunch in order to keep protein intake below 7 g until the evening meal. This simple method can effectively reduce tremors and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease during working hours.

Population-based studies have indicated that high dietary intakes of antioxidants nutrients, especially vitamin E, may help prevent Parkinson’s disease and may also offer some therapeutic effects as well. In one double-blind study, patients with early Parkinson’s disease given 3,000 mg of vitamin C and 3,200 IU of vitamin E each day for a period of seven years fared better than the placebo group. Although all patients eventually required drug treatment, the patients receiving the vitamins were able to delay the need for medication for up to three years. These results are quite promising, but a ten-year study with vitamin E at a lower daily intake, 2,000 IU, failed to show any real benefit in slowing the progress of the disease.

I also recommend that people with Parkinson’s disease take ENADA. This supplement contains stabilized niacinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), the activated form of vitamin B3 (niacin). NADH is required by the brain to make various neurotransmitters and to produce chemical energy. Typically, the level of NADH declines as one ages. Correcting this state of low NADH leads to significant improvement in mental function. NADH is especially effective in raising the level of dopamine within the brain and so is extremely beneficial in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The typical dosage for ENADA is 5 to 20 mg daily, depending upon the severity of the symptoms. Ginkgo biloba extract may also be helpful.

Eugene