{"id":11714,"date":"2024-09-06T13:34:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T13:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=11714"},"modified":"2024-09-23T14:22:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T14:22:52","slug":"why-parkinsons-disease-looks-different-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/your-later-life\/why-parkinsons-disease-looks-different-for-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Parkinson\u2019s disease looks different for everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-11715\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2024\/09\/06132340\/Lisa-Wynne.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2024\/09\/06132340\/Lisa-Wynne.jpg 400w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2024\/09\/06132340\/Lisa-Wynne-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Lisa Wynne<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Parkinson&#8217;s Nurse Specialist, Parkinson&#8217;s Ireland<br\/><\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder. It is the second most common neurological condition, after Alzheimer&#8217;s, but it is the fastest-growing neurological condition globally.<sup>1<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>In Ireland, it is estimated that 18,000 people are living with PD. It is variable in its progression, meaning some people progress slower than others, and the symptoms can be effectively controlled with medication for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-role-of-dopamine-in-parkinson-s-disease\"><strong>Role of dopamine in Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>PD is caused by a loss of a chemical called dopamine. We all lose some of this chemical as we get older. However, people with Parkinson\u2019s lose this chemical at a faster rate than others. It is estimated that by the time symptoms are noticed, about 70% of dopamine has been lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-causes-and-risk-factors\"><strong>Causes and risk factors<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The exact cause of Parkinson\u2019s is still not fully known. Current research suggests that genetic factors and environmental factors, such as the use of pesticides, may play a role in some of those affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Dopamine is a chemical responsible for <br>smooth movement and motor control.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-recognising-the-symptoms-of-parkinson-s\"><strong>Recognising the symptoms of Parkinson\u2019s<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dopamine is a chemical responsible for smooth movement and motor control. As a result, widely recognised symptoms include tremors, which 70% of people experience, along with slowness in movement and issues with gait and mobility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, dopamine also plays a role in many other aspects, which, for many people with Parkinson\u2019s, are the more troublesome and hidden symptoms. These may include issues with sleep; psychological symptoms (including anxiety and apathy); cognition changes, such as difficulty concentrating and multi-tasking; and bowel symptoms, such as constipation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-raising-awareness-and-supporting-the-community\"><strong>Raising awareness and supporting the community<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From this arose our awareness campaign at Parkinson\u2019s Ireland. The theme of the campaign stemmed from the awareness priorities identified by people with Parkinson\u2019s, their families and care partners in a member survey and through the issues that were being brought to us on our support line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We launched our first major awareness campaign, \u2018Different for Everyone\u2019, in April 2024 to represent and recognise the many symptoms that come with PD and how each individual experience with it is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-awareness-and-education-are-important\"><strong>Why awareness and education are important<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To improve the wellbeing of someone with PD as they age, they must be aware of the many symptoms that come with PD and what can impact them. It is also important for care partners, loved ones and health professionals to be aware of the 40+ symptoms and how they can manifest themselves differently as the disease progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parkinson\u2019s Ireland provides education to encourage self-management of the condition, helping people live well with Parkinson\u2019s and supporting them throughout their journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size\"><strong>[1]<\/strong> Dorsey ER, Sherer T, Okun MS, Bloem BR. The Emerging Evidence of the Parkinson Pandemic. J Parkinsons Dis. 2018;8(s1):S3-S8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder. It is the second most common neurological condition, after Alzheimer&#8217;s, but it is the fastest-growing neurological condition globally.1 In Ireland, it is estimated that 18,000 people are living with PD. It is variable in its progression, meaning some people progress slower than others, and the symptoms can &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/your-later-life\/why-parkinsons-disease-looks-different-for-everyone\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":11716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4048],"tags":[5941],"class_list":["post-11714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-your-later-life","tag-your-later-life-2024"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2024\/09\/06133242\/AdobeStock_231928990-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2024\/09\/06133242\/AdobeStock_231928990-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11714"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11919,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11714\/revisions\/11919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}