Parkinson's Disease Treatment Options
Up
till now there has been no drug discovered that
can completely care Parkinson’s disease.
There are medicines but they do not care the
disease fully, they aim to minimize the disability,
and help the patient maintain the normality
of life.
The medicines that are used to give in this
disease can help with the symptoms, but they
cannot stop the matters from worsening. For
individuals whose symptoms are not very apparent
or do not interfere with performance of daily
routine, medicines are not prescribed.
When To Begin Treatment
For Parkinson’s Disease
As there is no specified test for the
diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, no fixed
time period is marked as when to start the treatment.
Similar symptoms as that of Parkinson’s
disease may result from use of certain medicines.
In some cases, treatment is not started until
all the possibilities of other diseases are
ruled out and the doctor is sure that the patient
has Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s
Disease Treatment Options
Several drugs are used to treat Parkinson’s
disease as well as therapy.
Medication
- Selegiline (Eldepryl) is often given as
it is neuroprotective and rescues the brain
cells from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
- In case of difficulty in mobility levodopa
and carbidopa are given.
- Sometimes, a dopamine agonist such as bromocriptine
(Parlodel), ropinirole (Requip), pergolide
(Permax), or pramipexole (Mirapex) may be
started.
- When one drug does not effectively helps
in controlling the symptoms another drug is
added to work effectively. Some doctors reserve
levodopa and caridopa to use later as it can
cause complications if given too early.
Surgery
- For those people who have severe or fast
progressing disease, surgery is the only option.
Surgery is carried out with pallidotomy in
which an electric probe is used to destroy
a small portion of the brain that is overactive,
is thought to cause Parkinson’s disease.
- In another surgery called thalamotomy the
thalamus region of the brain is removed, responsible
for involuntary movements. It is performed
on patients with tremors in the hand or arm.
- Thalamic stimulation is another type of
approach in managing this disease. An electrode
wire is inserted into the thalamus; the other
end is connected to a pulse generator placed
under the skin in chest. It produces the benefit
of thalamotomy without causing wounds or scars
and shows good results in controlling tremors.
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a new procedure
in which small regions of the brain are destroyed
with a thin electrode wire implanted in the
brain and controls waves that cause tremors.
When Is Medication
and Surgery, An Option
After the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease
has been made, the next decision is regarding
which treatment tube given that is either medicine
or surgery, it depends on
- The degree of impairment of body functions
- Degree of cognitive impairment
- Patients ability to endure the medication
- The advice of the doctor
To conclude, it can be said
that though the Parkinson is not entirely curable, yet there are medicines
and surgery options that can provide ease during
the disease, however, they should be taken after
detailed discussion with ones physician. |
