Parkinson's disease is a disease caused by chronic and progressive degeneration that primarily affects a small area of the central nervous system, called the grey substance. The black substance produces dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter essential to the control of body movements. The body is created so that an imbalance between excitatory and the inhibitory mechanisms in favor of the latter. This disease was first described in 1817 by British physician James Parkinson in his essay on the shaking palsy.

The biochemical cause (altered dopamine synthesis) was detected first time around 1960. This disease generally affects people over fifty, with a slight preference for the male, currently in Italy there are more than 200,000 Parkinson's patients, with about 1,200 new cases a year.

The causes and risk factors for Parkinson's

The causes of the block in the production of dopamine are still unknown, but there is a statistically higher incidence of Parkinson's disease as a result of repeated trauma to the head (as in ex-boxers), exposure to toxic substances in the environment and cerebral arteriosclerosis.

In some cases it was possible to identify a correlation between the onset of disease and drug use in young people. Exposure to toxic substances appears to be a case confirmed by the high incidence in some rural areas, which make heavy use of pesticides.

However, it is not yet clears the underlying cause of Parkinson's disease. It is very difficult to correlate all the statistics available today on the spread of the disease. We know for a fact that is a disorder characterized by degeneration and death of neurons producing dopamine neurons when they drop below 30% displayed the initial symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

The symptoms of Parkinson's disease

One of the initial symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is a tremor of the hand, which appears when the hand is not being used. Other symptoms are weakness of the voice, change in writing, which becomes shivering and with smaller type, facial expression changes caused by the reduction of facial expressions, gait with small steps, cramps, involuntary loss of saliva. Other symptoms are anxiety and depression, minor mental disorders and intellectual decay. The final stages are characterized by a general degeneration. The period in which the disease takes its course can vary from ten to twenty years.

Treatment for Parkinson's disease

Drug therapy involves the administration of anticholinergics, levodopa (L-Dopa) and dopamine agonists. Levodopa has long been the main pharmacological tool, but after a few years it has shown a reduction of its effect on the patient and it also has unpleasant side effects. It is now administered with other substances, such as carbidopa and entacapone, which reduce the breakdown of levodopa in the body.

The dopamine agonists are drugs that in recent years have proven more effective, allowing time to postpone the use of levodopa. Anticholinergics prevent the action of acetylcholine becomes negative when lower levels of dopamine causes Parkinson's disease. The monoamine oxidase inhibitors (selegiline) and catecolometiltransferasi (entacapone) work by blocking enzymes that degrade dopamine, but are not very effective and generally only potentiate the effect of levodopa.