Abstract:
Parkinson's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by tremor and bradykinesia and is one of the most common neurological disorders.
Male sex and advancing age are independent risk factors and, as the population ages, is taking an increasing toll on productivity and medical resources. There are a number of other extrapyramidal conditions that can make the diagnosis
challenging. Unlike other neurodegenerative diseases, idiopathic Parkinson's
disease has effective treatments that mitigate symptoms. Medications can improve day-to-day function and, in cases where medication does not give a sustained
benefit or has significant side effects, treatments like deep brain stimulation result in improved quality of life. Parkinson's disease represents a rapidly developing
neurodegenerative condition; the increased worldwide prevalence, apart from an infectious cause, resembles many of the features commonly observed during pandemics. In most populations, 3-5% of Parkinson's disease is explained by
genetic causes associated with certain Parkinson's disease genes, representing
monogenic Parkinson's disease, while 90 genetic risk variants account for 16-36% of the inherited risk of non-monogenic Parkinson's disease. explains together. .
Additional causal associations include having a relative with Parkinson's disease or tremors, constipation, and being a nonsmoker, each of which at least doubles the risk of Parkinson's disease. The diagnosis is clinically based; auxiliary test is
reserved for people with atypical appearance. Current criteria define Parkinson's disease as the presence of bradykinesia with rest tremor, rigidity, or both.
However, the clinical presentation is multifaceted and includes many non-motor symptoms. Prognostic advice is guided by knowledge of the subtypes of the disease. There is a potentially long prodromal period before clinically manifest Parkinson's disease.
