Karachi (Online Int’l): Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases are spreading fast in our society amongst elderly population and their early diagnosis and treatment would help in reducing the burden of these ailments on our already crumbling healthcare system, said noted neurophysician of the country and President of Epilepsy Foundation of Pakistan , Dr Fowzia Siddiqui, here on Tuesday.
Addressing an online awareness session, on the occasion of World Brain Day, she said that now more effective medicines are present to control brain ailments including Parkinson’s and patients and their families should consult their neurologists for a better treatment regime. She said besides medicines a devise named DBS is also available in Pakistan to control Parkinson’s.
Dr Fowzia appealed the government to give a subsidy on these medicines and devises, besides ensuring ending their shortage in market. She said on the occasion of the world brain day it needs to raise awareness about these issues. She said this year; the World Brain Day is dedicated to raising awareness for Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative brain disease that affects the mind, movement and almost all aspects of brain function.
Dr Fowzia said the Covid-19 pandemic has increased mental and neurological problems also and a large number of Covid-19 survivors are facing these issues. She said Pakistan mostly imports drugs to treat and control Parkinson’s and due to Covid lockdown many patients face problems in getting these medicines.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that is caused by degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain called the substantia nigra, which controls movement.
These nerve cells die or become impaired, losing the ability to produce an important chemical called dopamine. Studies have shown that symptoms of Parkinson’s develop in patients with an 80 percent or greater loss of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra.
Normally, dopamine operates in a delicate balance with other neurotransmitters to help coordinate the millions of nerve and muscle cells involved in movement. Without enough dopamine, this balance is disrupted, resulting in tremor (trembling in the hands, arms, legs and jaw); rigidity (stiffness of the limbs); slowness of movement; and impaired balance and coordination – the hallmark symptoms of Parkinson’s.
The cause of Parkinson’s essentially remains unknown. However, theories involving oxidative damage, environmental toxins, and genetic factors and accelerated aging have been discussed as potential causes for the disease. In 2005, researchers discovered a single mutation in a Parkinson’s disease gene (first identified in 1997), which is believed responsible for five percent of inherited cases.
However, Dr Fowzia Siddiqui stressed taking precautionary measures to keep this diseases at bay, while increasing routine checkups and screening of elderly population so that the AParkinson’s can be detected and treated at early stages.
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