American Parkinson’s Disease Association
Those dark neurons produce a specific type of neurotransmitter (a chemical messenger that allows neurons to communicate) called dopamine. The neurotransmitter dopamine helps to regulate movement. This loss of dopamine is the reason that many treatments for nParkinson’s Disease are intended to increase dopamine levels in the brain. Future research will hopefully tell us more about alpha-synuclein? < website of APDA
In addition to decreases in dopamine and the cells that make dopamine, you might also read or hear about alpha-synuclein (AL-fa-sin-NUKE-lee-un). We do not yet know what this protein does in the healthy brain, but in Parkinson’s disease it clumps up in what are called Lewy (LOO-ee) bodies
Urinary frequency and urgency in PD are most caused by abnormal innervation of the bladder resulting in overactivity of the bladder muscle called the detrusor muscle. This muscle contracts excessively even though it is not filled with urine. This causes an increased urge to urinate and/or an increased frequency of urination, which can be especially prominent at night.
Ten Tips to put the Freeze on Freezing!
- Try another movement – raise an arm, touch your head, point to the ceiling; then re-start
- Change direction: if you can’t move forward, try stepping sideways first, and then go forward
- Carry a laser pointer in your pocket; when you freeze – shine the laser in front of your foot and step on the light – this visual cue can help you re-start.
- Visualize an object on the ground in front of you and try to step over it.
- Wear a metronome on your belt or carry a small one in your pocket – turn it on and the external beat can help you re-start.
- Try humming a song and time your re-start with the beat of the music
- Count “1-2-3-go” and then step forward
- Shift your weight from side to side to help initiate taking a step
- March in place a few times and then step forward
- Don’t fight the freeze by trying harder to step forward – shift your attention from moving the legs to moving the arms – then resume walking forward
Symptoms of Parkinson’s | APDA
Parkinson’s & Personality Changes | APDA
They are likely to become increasingly more prominent and new traits may arise. Although we may be uncomfortable looking at Parkinson’s Disease as a condition that changes who we are, it makes sense to do so. We already recognize the disease to be a life-changer but may wish to consider that part of the reason is because it can change who we are.
Essential tremor is either an action (intention) tremor—it intensifies when one tries to use the affected muscles during voluntary movements such as eating and writing—or it is a postural tremor, present with sustained muscle tone. This means that it is distinct from a resting tremor, such as that caused by Parkinson’s disease, which is not correlated with movement.[7