For To prevent Parkinson's disease Certain guidelines can be established, although the effectiveness is not total. Caring for a healthy lifestyle - diet, physical exercise - and early detection are two of the most important elements.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that primarily affects movement. This pathology has a chronic course and has unknown causes, as well as an important genetic component.
Due to these characteristics, today it is difficult to establish which are the guidelines that must be followed to avoid the appearance of Parkinson's.
It is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the nervous system, damaging the neurons Dopaminergic of the Black substance .
The most important function performed by this type of neurons is the control of movements.
Thus, the main symptom of this disease is the alteration of the voluntary movements of the extremities of the body, that is, of the arms and legs.
But eye, this does not mean that this disease is limited to the alterations of the movements, since the cerebral zones that is deteriorating in the Parkinson realize many other functions, reason why can present / display a greater number of symptoms.
Memory failures, cognitive dysfunctions, intellectual, dementia, mood disorders, depression , sleep disorders And, in the worst cases, hallucinations, delusions, or loss of impulse control may occur frequently in people with Parkinson's.
Neurodegenerative pathologies are today a mystery to the world of science and, despite the many advances that have taken place in recent years, the causes are not yet known.
However, there is much research on the origin of the disease that aims to acquire a greater knowledge of Parkinson's, establish treatments for its cure and delimit strategies to prevent its occurrence.
Tips to Prevent Parkinson's
1- Protective foods
Research on strategies and activities to prevent Parkinson's disease Are very numerous.
In this sense, despite the fact that today there are no treatments that can completely prevent the onset of the disorder, there is evidence to establish certain guidelines.
As discussed earlier, one of the important factors that have been detected in the development of Parkinson's is the process of oxidative stress in cells.
Oxidative stress is a normal activity performed by all the cells of the body and allowing the development of the body.
However, certain alterations or excesses in these processes can cause an increase of the death of cells (in this case neurons, since the Parkinson affects to the cells of the brain) and increase the probabilities of developing Parkinson's disease.
Thus, carrying out a diet rich in natural antioxidants prevents alterations of oxidative stress and, therefore, effective strategies to reduce the likelihood of onset of Parkinson's may result.
The main foods that can prevent the disorder are:
- Green Tea: Investigations carried out by Dr. Baolu Zhao indicate that the Polyphenols Of green tea protect dopamine neurons (the neurons affected in Parkinson's), so their consumption can prevent the onset of the disease.
- Foods rich in vitamin E: Vitamin E is the substance with greater antioxidant power, so these foods can be beneficial to prevent the disease. Vegetable fats, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts and Almonds Are foods richer in vitamin E.
- Foods rich in vitamin C: Like vitamin E, this also has a high antioxidant power. The Oranges , Lemons or other citrus can protect brain development and prevent Parkinson's.
- Ginkgo Biloba Is an herb that is especially beneficial to the brain as it helps to increase your blood circulation. Increased circulation increases cell production and, therefore, prevents neuronal degeneration.
2- Balanced Diet
Beyond the foods that have been discussed above, preventing Parkinson's disease requires global care of the body.
In this sense, periodically consuming those foods that may be protective for the development of pathology is not usually enough.
Thus, if we make a very rich diet with the four foods mentioned (green tea, foods with vitamin E and C and gingko biloba) but accompanied by unhealthy products, the diet will not be healthy and food probably does not allow to care for the brain regions .
Many cases of Parkinson's may be caused by other diseases or conditions.
In this sense, the alterations that affect brain and neurological functioning are usually the most relevant.
Vascular pathologies can give rise to what is known as atherosclerotic parkinsonism or atherosclerotic parkinsonism.
In this way, eat a balanced diet low in fat and Without excess sugar And salts will prevent the body from suffering strokes and predispose the brain regions to Parkinson's disease.
3- Perform physical activity frequently
Frequent physical activity can help prevent Parkinson's disease through two different pathways.
On the one hand, Exercise improves health , So the odds of contracting diseases or alterations that may be associated with Parkinson's decline.
As we have seen, the onset of this disease can respond to multiple causes and different origins, however, whenever we promote health we prevent the onset of diseases, including Parkinson's.
On the other hand, frequent physical activity may be a particularly relevant component in protecting the main symptom of this disorder, ie, altered movement.
Exercise itself requires continuous movements, so the more physical activity you do, the more benefits we will have in both the different body regions and in the brain areas that control movement.
These are the areas of the brain that are mainly affected in Parkinson's, so the more activity we give to that group of neurons, the less likely they are to begin to degenerate.
4- Healthy lifestyle
Finally, to end health promotion, it is important to healthy life style .
This concept involves the two previous concepts (food and exercise), as well as the avoidance of behaviors harmful to health.
Frequent alcohol use may be a risk factor Important in the development of Parkinson's, so to prevent this disease is relevant to avoid excessive consumption of this substance.
Also, having an active life, both physical and mental, can help protect the body from the development of Parkinson's disease.
5- Consume coffee
Both coffee and tobacco are two substances that have generated some debate regarding the development of Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative pathologies.
In the case of Parkinson's, the production deficit of dopaminergic neurons has been established as the main endogenous factor that explains the appearance of the symptoms of the disease.
Coffee and tobacco stimulate the production of this substance, dopamine, and have therefore been postulated as neuroprotective substances.
However, both coffee and caffeine can lead to other physical alterations that may predispose to the appearance of Parkinson's, so their role as preventive factors has some doubts.
6- Early Detection
One of the most relevant aspects that determine the evolution of the disease is the early detection of this disease.
Thus, despite the fact that Parkinson's disease is a chronic and irreversible pathology, both the first day and the last day are detected, a positive relation between early detection and a better course of the disease has been demonstrated.
7- Early treatment
The previous point explains why, if the pharmacological treatment starts in the first moments of the disease, the evolution of the disease will be slower, the symptoms will take longer to appear and, generally, the person suffering from Parkinson's will have a better Quality of life for longer.
Thus, as soon as the disease is diagnosed, despite the lack of clear symptoms, it is very important to start treatment for Parkinson's.
8- Cognitive stimulation
Finally, it should be noted that Parkinson's is not limited to its most typical symptoms, it often leads to cognitive failures and can very often lead to dementia .
Perform Cognitive stimulation activities to exercise memory , Reading, or calculation are very important to prevent these symptoms and prevent the occurrence of dementia syndromes.
Causes
To know the treatments and the strategies that allow to cure or to prevent a disease, it is imperative to know both the causes and the development of the pathology.
If the etiological factors of an alteration are not known, it is practically impossible to determine what can be done to refer.
In the case of Parkinson's, these aspects fall into one main issue: What happens to certain regions of the brain begin to degenerate? Or put another way: What factors cause the onset of Parkinson's?
This question, today does not have a clear answer, fact that explains that there are still no treatments that allow to remit this disease.
However, if the factors that determine the onset of the disease are not clarified, it does not mean that nothing is known about the etiology of Parkinson's.
In fact, factors that appear to play an important role in the development of pathology have been discovered and, despite not fully explaining their appearance, have allowed some effective treatments to be established and suggested preventive strategies.
The main causes of Parkinson's are:
Genetic factors
The scientific community has identified several genetic mutations that are associated with Parkinson's disease.
The development of the Alpha-synuclein gene Appears to be one of the main factors of the disorder, although it is not the only one that has been detected.
Thus, the study of Parkinson's genes has allowed to explain many cases of this pathology and to establish lines of investigation aimed at finding the proteins and the genetic components that can develop the disease.
Environmental factors
It has been pointed out that exposure to certain toxins can give rise to Parkinsonian symptoms in an exceptional way.
The MPTP (A drug) or magnesium metal may lead to the appearance of symptoms very similar to those found in Parkinson's disease, which could be important elements in the development of the disease.
Mitochondria
Mitochondria are components of cells that produce energy.
In this sense, several lines of research suggest that mitochondria may play an important role in the development of Parkinson's.
The molecules that damage the membranes, the proteins and the DNA of the cells are precisely these cellular elements, realizing it through a process that is known like oxidative stress.
Thus, some mutations affecting mitochondrial function have been identified as causes of Parkinson's disease.
Cranial injury
Numerous Parkinson cases have been connoted among boxers. From what can be deduced that, the blows suffered in the cerebral regions, could also be a risk factor for the development of the disease.
Aging
Finally, cell degeneration is a typical process of human aging, so that as we grow our organism has less ability to regenerate cells and we are losing certain functions.
This fact explains that age is shown as the main risk factor of the disorder, since the prevalence of this disorder increases markedly after 60 years.
However, a normal and healthy aging does not imply the presence of Parkinson's in spite of the fact that the body experiences cellular degeneration, reason why the passage of the years does not allow to explain the appearance of the disorder.
References
- Clarke G. A one-hit model of cell death in inherited neuronal degenerations. Nature, 2000; 406: 195-199.
- Greenamyre J.T., Betarbet R., Sherer T., Mackenzie G. Chronic systemic complex I inhibition by pesticide causes selective nigrostriatal degeneration with cytoplasmic inclusions. Abs., 2000; 26: 1026.
- Mahler M.F., Gokhan S. Mechanisms underlying neural cell death in neurodegenerative diseases: alterations of a cellular developmentally-mediated cellular rehostal. Trends Neuroscienci., 2000; 23: 599-605.
- Obeso J.A., Rodríguez-Oroz M.C., Chana P., Lera G., Rodríguez M., Olanow C.W. The Evolution and Origin of Motor Complications in Parkinson's Disease. Neurology, Suppl 4 (Vol 55): S13-S23. December 2000.
- Obeso J.A., Rodríguez-Oroz M.C., Lera G. Evolution of Parkinson's disease. Actual problems. 2, pp. 21-38. In:"Neuronal death and Parkinson's disease". J.A. Obeso, C.W. Olanow, H.V. Schapira, E. Tolosa (editors). Adis. Madrid, 1999; Chap.