PSP is considered a sporadic neurodegenerative disease, one that develops by chance. PSP is considered a tauopathy as is Alzheimer's and other frontotemporal brain disorders. There is neither a cure nor an effective treatment for PSP. Most symptoms don't respond to drug therapy. Some anti-parkinsonian medications like levodopa have been tried but therapeutic effects, if any, are generally short-lived.
Parkinson's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that is generally thought of as a motor disorder. Symptoms develop slowly over time and vary from person to person.
The key motor characteristics are tremor, slowness of movement, frozen limbs and difficulty with gait. People with Parkinson's also experience changes in mood and behavior. Cognitive impairment can range from depression and anxiety, to psychosis. In fact, many find living with the non-motor changes of PD to be more difficult than the motor symptoms.
First described in by James Parkinson as the shaking palsy, PD is characterized by a loss of neurons in the substantia nigra portion of the brain. A buildup of the protein alpha-synuclein causes dopamine producing cells to fail and die. There is no known specific cause of PD but it is considered to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors just like PSP. Symptoms of PD develop over years. Dopamine replacement therapy is the first line treatment for Parkinson's.
Since each case of Parkinson's is unique, there is no telling which symptoms may develop. There are 5 stages of Parkinson's and not everyone will progress through each stage. New research is looking at gene mutations that could either cause the disease or be instrumental in directing the development of future specific therapies.
Research is also examining the gene-environmental interaction, the influence of the environment on the expression of genes resulting in disease susceptibility.
People who are afflicted with cerebral palsy suffer brain damage during delivery or shortly after birth. I was born with cerebral palsy and recently I went to a neurologist to back my disability support pension application. So consequently he put me on Kinson. It seems to be helping me with my movements. Is it possible that kinson is helping with my cp.
I have asked my exercise physiologist if he can see any difference. He has also studied Pd. Another person who does works with me who is qualified as a life coach says she can see a small difference in my movements.
PSP is usually sporadic, meaning that it occurs infrequently and without a known cause. In very few cases, the disease results from mutations in the MAPT gene. This mutation provides faulty instructions for making tau to the nerve cell. Genetic factors have not been implicated in most individuals. Currently there are no tests or brain imaging techniques to definitively diagnose PSP. Identifying early gait problems, problems moving the eyes, speech and swallowing abnormalities, as well as ruling out other similar disorders is important.
Diagnostic imaging may show shrinkage at the top of the brain stem and look at brain activity in known areas of degeneration. There is currently no effective treatment for PSP and symptoms usually do not respond to medications. A gastrostomy a surgical procedure that involves the placement of a tube through the skin of the abdomen into the stomach for feeding purposes may be necessary when there are swallowing disturbances or the definite risk of severe choking.
Deep brain stimulation—which uses surgically implanted electrodes and a pacemaker-like medical device to deliver electrical stimulation to specific areas in the brain to block signals that cause the motor symptoms of several neurological disorders—and other surgical procedures commonly used in individuals with Parkinson's disease have not been proven effective in PSP.
The disease gets progressively worse, with people becoming severely disabled within three to five years of onset. Affected individuals are predisposed to serious complications such as pneumonia, choking, head injury, and fractures. The most common cause of death is pneumonia. With good attention to medical and nutritional needs, it is possible for individuals with PSP to live a decade or more after the first symptoms of the disease appear.
NIH is the leading funder of biomedical research in the world. Genetic studies of PSP may identify underlying genetic causes. Researchers hope to identify specific disease-causing mutation and are also studying how genetics and environment interaction may work together to contribute to disease susceptibility.
Scientists hope to understand the mechanisms involving tau that lead to PSP and its symptoms.
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