Neurology is the branch of science and medicine dealing with the central and peripheral nervous system. The nervous system is made of the brain and spinal cord. The disorders, illness or injuries of the nervous system can become problematic for people suffering from them. One of the worst diseases of the nervous system is Parkinson s disease.

It is a progressive disorder affecting the central nervous system that leads to slowing down of movement and slurring of speech over a period of time. It is a condition where the nerve cells in the brain producing dopamine (a neurotransmitter) are affected.

Some of the early signs of Parkinson s include:

Tremor: If you have noticed a slight shaking of your hands or limbs, then Parkinson s might be the cause. The trembling can range from mild to severe as the disease progresses. The back-and-forth rubbing of your thumb and forefinger is known as pill-rolling tremor. One of the most prominent signs is your hand shaking even when it is rested.
Bradykinesia (slow movement): As the disease progresses, you may find it difficult to move your hands or legs or going from one place to another. Even making the smallest movement will require an increased effort on your part.
Rigid Muscles: The muscles in your body can become stiff causing you pain and making it difficult to perform physical activities.
Masked Face: Your face may experience spasms or become stiff periodically. It can also lead to complete paralysis on one side of the face.
Stooping or improper balance: Having Parkinson s disease can make your body posture imbalanced resulting in stooping or hunching over.
Decreased Automatic Movements: You may experience difficulty in smiling, blinking or swinging your arms while walking.
Alteration in voice or speaking: Your voice can become soft or you may slur while talking. You can also experience a monotonous voice.
Writing may become small: You can experience changes in your handwriting as it becomes small and crowded.
Loss of Smell: The smell of food sitting right in front of you may not register in your olfactory resulting in loss of appetite.
Constipation: Having Parkinson s disease can lead to patients experiencing irritable bowel syndrome.
Have Trouble Sleeping: It might be difficult to fall asleep for people suffering from Parkinson s. Also, there are sudden movements during the sleeping process.
Dizziness: People suffering from Parkinson s may faint from time to time.
These were some of the symptoms and signs by which you can tell whether a person has Parkinson s or not. However, as of now it is not curable and can only be treated with medicines. But, early detection can definitely help in preventing it from affecting the whole body.

Parkinson's Disease - Are You Aware Of These Signs?

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes a degradation and eventually death of the brain cells. People with Alzheimer's disease suffer from a memory loss. There is also a progressive decline in the cognitive capacity of the brain.Today, Alzheimer's disease and dementia have become almost synonymous with old age. It is a heartbreaking experience to see aged people with Alzheimer's disease. They have little or no memory of the present time, of their loved people or the things around them. 

The Alzheimer's disease starts off as a mild condition and then gradually progresses through stages. In this article, we will discuss the different stages associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The first stage: This stage shows no significant changes in the affected person. Thus, without any diagnostic tests (such as a PET scan), it will be difficult to detect the condition in the initial stage.
The second stage: This stage brings about some changes in the person. The person might misplace things or may even forget words (something that is often brushed aside as a small problem). However, this seldom interferes with their daily activities. Like the first stage, this stage, in most cases, goes unnoticed.
The third stage: This is the stage that brings about visible changes in the person concerned such as
The person experiences difficulties in trying to organize things.
They forget things they have read, or heard just a few seconds back.
In some cases, the person may not be able to recollect a person's name they have just met.
Some people may end up repeating the same question over and over again.
The fourth stage: This stage marks a further decline in the mental health. The person gets forgetful about himself or herself. They also start mixing up with the dates and months or makes major goof up while cooking (misses out on ingredients).
The fifth stage: The mental deterioration reaches a step further. The person slowly starts forgetting about the present, such as their address, the time of the day, their profession and even phone numbers.
The sixth stage: The problem is getting worse. Hallucination is slowly setting in. The person is starting to forget people and their faces, mixing one identity with another.
The seventh stage: The final and unfortunately, the worst stage. The person stops talking to people, eating, or even walking. They stay confined to their world, oblivious of their immediate surrounding.
Dealing with an Alzheimer patient

In addition to the treatment and medication, a person with Alzheimer's disease needs the love, care, and support of their close and dear ones. Isolating them will only worsen the situation.
It may not be easy to deal with an Alzheimer's patient as the disease progresses, but do not be rude to them. Give them the confidence.
Always keep a paper containing their name, address and emergency contact number in their wallet.
People after the age of 50 should undergo regular health check ups.

Alzheimer's - How The Disease Progresses?

Parkinson s disease usually develops at a very slow rate and the early signs of this disease often go unnoticed. As the condition progresses, the symptoms become more prominent. Parkinson s disease affects the nervous system and cannot be completely cured. However, with proper treatment, its rate of progression can be slowed and this condition can be managed. The earlier a diagnosis is made, the more effective treatment will be. Thus, it is important to be able to recognize the signs the symptoms of this disease.

The signs and symptoms of Parkinson s disease vary from person to person. In most cases, symptoms begin on one side of the body and are worse on that side even after it begins to be noticed on the other side. These symptoms can include:

Tremors
Involuntary shaking of a part of the body is usually the first sign of Parkinson s the hands are most affected by this symptom. These tremors can be felt while performing an activity or even when the hand is at rest. In some cases, it can even keep a person from performing normal tasks such as writing. Tremors caused by Parkinson s can also take the form of an uncontrollable back and forth rubbing movement between the thumb and forefinger.

Slow Movements
This is also known as bradykinesia. As the disease progresses, it can slow down movement and reduce the person s ability to move. Simple tasks such as walking can become more difficult and take much longer. The person s steps may become shorter and they may also drag their feet as they walk. Parkinson s patients may also find it difficult to get in and out of chairs.

Rigidity
Parkinson s can make muscles stiff and difficult to move. This can affect the muscles of any part of the body. This rigidity can limit the person s range of movement and make moving the affected muscles very painful.

Loss of certain movements
In addition to muscle rigidity, the person may not be able to make certain movements that we take for granted. For example, he or she may not be able to blink or smile. Swinging the arms while walking may also become more difficult.

Changes to speech
Parkinson s can make a person speak slower and reduce his or her natural volume. The person s speech may also sound slurred. In addition, they may find it difficult to speak with inflections due to which their speech may appear to be monotonic.

Imbalance
Parkinson s may affect a person s posture and balance. In many cases, Parkinson s patients develop a stoop. The loss of balance can make climbing stairs difficult and cause them to fall easily.

Parkinson's Disease - Signs And Symptoms You Should Know About It!

Ageing is inevitable, and as much as we want to escape, there is no way out. All organs, whether obvious or not, undergo gradual degeneration and deterioration. The brain is no exception, and memory being one of its main function also begins to decline with age. There are various factors which determine how quickly this ageing sets in and how rapidly it progresses. These are dictated by a person s lifestyle, activity levels, and overall body changes. Dementia also has a strong family history, and if you know someone who has a family history, there are some early signs that you could watch for. This will help in both empathizing with the person, as well as to help in arresting progression. Read on to know the signs that need to be watched out for.

Mood changes: Sudden changes in mood, especially going into short periods of depression without an obvious reason, is one of the first symptoms of dementia. If it is happening repeatedly, this can help identify dementia.
Personality changes: If a shy person suddenly becomes outgoing or vice versa, this could be an early indicator of dementia. They either develop or shed inhibitions, which is a new change for them.
Memory loss: Sudden short-term memory loss for a person who had a very strong memory is a definite indicator of dementia. They might clearly remember the distant events but forget small things like where to find their medicines, where things are in the kitchen or bathroom, etc. Because of this, you might see them repeating what they just did. This could be like washing a glass again, saying or asking the same thing again, etc.
The difficulty with regular tasks: Short-term memory loss causes difficulty with regular tasks like laying out the dinner table, finding regular medicines, paying utility bills, etc. There is also difficulty in learning new tasks, which further complicates things.
Feeling lost: Due to sudden memory loss and difficulty with regular tasks, they suddenly feel lost, which in turns adds to their depression.
Apathy: This also leads to a general lack of interest in things and people around them. They could have had hobbies, which no longer interest them.
Disoriented: They find it difficult to be aligned to time and space. Directions which they clearly know could seem difficult.
Not able to connect the dots: While the elderly people are generally good at telling stories and anecdotes, with dementia setting in, this becomes difficult.
These are some symptoms which can help identify if a near one is slowly developing dementia. Identifying in the early stages can help in arresting progress and extending support.

Dementia - How To Know If Someone Is Suffering From It?

If you are being treated for Parkinson's disease. How can you maximize the effect of Levodopa? The effect of levodopa can be maximized by increasing its absorption from the digestive system. In particular, taking levodopa on an empty stomach is very important. 

Take on an empty stomach: Do not eat anything 1 hour before taking levodopa. Do not eat anything for at least 30 minutes and if possible 1 hour after taking it. Take the pill with 2 glasses of water so that it can dissolve. If taking the levodopa on an empty stomach makes you nauseous, confirm that your medication has the right amount of carbidopa in relation to the levodopa (25%). If you continue to feel nauseous, you can eat a piece of white bread around the time that you take levodopa. Do not apply any butter, yogurt, cheese or similar high protein spreads. Protein can drastically decrease the absorption of levodopa. 
Get your constipation treated: This is critically important too. Being constipated can slow down the passage of levodopa through the digestive system. In most patients, drinking adequate water and taking stool softeners is helpful. 
Get your ulcer treated: It can be difficult to recognize that you have a gastric ulcer. However, if you have a burning sensation in your stomach at any time, or belch frequently, you may have a gastric ulcer. If you think you have an ulcer you should get tested (there is a simple breath test now) and treated with antibiotics (not antacids!) 
Do not take levodopa with iron tablets: The iron binds to levodopa and prevents its absorption. Keep a gap of at least two hours between these two medications. 
Try taking levodopa with orange juice and carbonated water (soda): Mix equal quantities of orange juice and carbonated water (soda). Take your regular levodopa with a glass of this preparation instead of water. The carbonated water hastens disintegration of the tablet, and the acidity of both things helps in levodopa absorption. There are special tablets of levodopa (dispersible levodopa, Madopar) which can be dissolved in this preparation. Talk to your doctor about it.

Suffering From Parkinson's Disease - How You Can Maximise The Effect Of Levodopa? 

Dementia refers to the progressive loss of memory in a human being. It does not refer to any particular disease. It is rather a cumulative representation of symptoms which signify that the person is losing his or her memory. Dementia occurs in seven stages. Read on to read more about them:

In the first stage, there is no cognitive decline and the person is mentally sound. There is no memory loss as well.
In the second stage, there is a very mild cognitive decline leading to normal forgetfulness that is often associated with progressing age.
In the third stage, there is a mild cognitive decline. The person has an increased forgetfulness and may find it difficult to concentrate on things.
In the fourth stage, there is moderate cognitive decline and the person starts forgetting even the most recent events. They cannot even travel alone or manage their own finances.
In the fifth stage, there is moderately severe cognitive decline. The person going through this stage often requires help even with their daily activities. People tend to forget even the most common things like phone and email passwords.
In the sixth stage, there is severe cognitive decline. This stage is also called middle dementia and there is prominent memory loss. People cannot even count from 1 to 10. Their speech becomes slurry. They also start having delusions.
In the seventh stage, there is very severe cognitive decline. This stage is also called late dementia. The psychomotor skills are also lost at this stage and the person may not even be able to walk properly.
Some of the early signs of dementia are listed below:

In the initial days of dementia, the person usually tends to get confused when it comes to choosing the right words. This makes them take much longer time to conclude their speech.
There might also be a change in the mood of the person.
Depression is also one of the early signs.

The person will have a tendency to forget even the most recent events that took place in his or her life. This means that they might remember what happened ten years before but they might not remember what they did in the morning.
Early signs also include failure to sense directions. People often tend to forget their addresses and the landmarks and thus become lost when they travel alone.
Confusion is also one of the common signs and this is directly correlated to the loss of memory because when a person cannot remember familiar faces, it leads to a lot of confusion within his own mind.
So, if you suspect that someone in your house is suffering from dementia, then you must look out for these early signs and seek medical help immediately. Early treatment can keep the condition from worsening.

Dementia - Stages and Early Signs!

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