Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease - Is There A Link?

By: Jonty Smith

Both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease afflict around 500,000 individuals annually with their eroding and life-sapping effects. While Alzheimer's robs memories and personality and ultimately leads to lowered motor function, Parkinson's disease steals the person of rudimentary motor function resulting in a trembling or palsy to dominate the body. Scientists have contemplated for years whether or not there was a link between both diseases, either in terms of genetics or environmental reasons which initiated the onset of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease is an incurable illness of the nervous system involving the neuro-transmitters in the brain starting to become defective, causing a bodily shaking and limbs that gets increasingly poor as time goes by. Symptoms of austerity and difficulty walking at a regular bearing also appear over time. Ultimately this disease will steal the person's ability to regulate their balance consequenting in more trips and falls, which is a consideration for their well being.

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease are dissimilar in that Parkinson's disease seems to concentrate more on physical handicaps, Alzheimer's disease appears to afflict the mental abilities prior to the motor skills and physical skills deteriorating. Common everyday absent-mindedness evolves into disorientation and forgetfulness which become a major issue for daily functioning. The whereabouts of houses or recalling the faces of kids or buddies becomes increasingly troublesome with time. Eventually, the personality can change as a result of the disease.

In spring 2003, a scientific study found that there may well be a direct link between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. In the scientific study, it contended that more aged adults who contract the shakes and other quintessential symptoms of Parkinson's disease may be as much as eightfold more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as well. Additionally, it has been displayed that the symptoms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease can be very much alike and possibly develop along the same lines, although the ultimate cause may be different.

It has also been suggested in disease research that Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease could possibly have a connection with how both diseases progress as the years go by. The former study released in the spring 2003 publication of The Archives of Neurology observed the development of symptoms linked with Parkinson's disease among 824 Catholic church attenders with 75 years of age being the average, and who had no obvious signs of Alzheimer's disease at the start of the study. Around four and half years later, 79% of the study's individuals found a more speedy development of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Those who experienced the speedier progression, it was discovered that they were eight times more likely to possess symptoms of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Is there a link between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease? To date, medical professionals are still discussing that suggestion, but increasingly more research studies seem to imply that there is possibly a connection between these two debilitating illnesses. Hopefully in time research will be able to explain the link, if any, linking Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

About Jonty Smith
Jonty Smith is founder of the Alzheimers Help website. Alzheimers Help provides free articles and resources to Alzheimers caregivers and can be located at (http://101AlzheimersHelp.com).

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