The link between Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s
Do you that, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease share a connection? Researchers say that this connection can help to develop a treatment that may prevent or even cure this disease. Learn about the link between Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease in this article. Log on to www.doralhw.org for a consultation.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that gradually destroys your abilities to think, memory, and eventually, the ability to perform the simplest tasks. Mostly it appears in people in their mid-60s. However, in some cases, some people experience it in their 30s too, which is rare. It is the most common cause of dementia among older people.
It may be caused by a combination of age-related changes in the brain, along with genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Any of these factors can increase or decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s disease like if a person lives in a good environment and follows a good lifestyle chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease are less than a person who has a bad/unhealthy lifestyle.
It is ranked 7th in the leading cause of death in the United States. However, the time of diagnosis to death can vary; for example, if a person is older than 80 when diagnosed, he can die in several upcoming years and if a person is younger chances are he can live as long as 10 years or more.
Right now, there is no cure for this disease, although some significant progress has been made in recent years in developing and testing new treatments. Several medicines to slow down the symptoms also have gotten approval.
What is Parkinson’s disease?
It is a progressive disease that affects the nervous system and the movement of the body which is controlled by the nerves. Its symptoms appear gradually and mainly affect movement like tremors in just one hand. Tremors are the most common symptom and other symptoms include stiffness, slowed movement, unstable posture, drooling, soft speaking voice, or trouble swallowing.
It is caused when a specific area of your brain called the basal ganglia starts to deteriorate. As this area deteriorates, you start losing the abilities of the parts that this area controlled. Researchers also found that Parkinson’s makes a major shift in your brain chemistry, especially dopamine. Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters that help brain cells communicate with your muscles. Parkinson’s disease reduces dopamine in your brain causing slow movements and tremors symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. As the disease progresses, these symptoms get severe. And in later stages, it affects how the brain functions, causing dementia-like symptoms and depression.
There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, treatment can slow the progression of the disease. In some cases, your healthcare provider suggests having surgery to regulate certain areas of the brain to improve your symptoms.
What is Huntington’s disease?
Huntington’s disease is a rare condition that causes the breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells in the brain and gets worse over time. It usually affects movement and thinking abilities.
It is caused by an inherited difference in a single gene. Usually, a person is born with two copies of every gene – one copy with each parent. A person who is born with one gene of a nontypical gene or a healthy gene can develop this disease.
Its symptoms usually appear in people in their 30s or 40s but in some cases, it also shows up in children which is called juvenile Huntington’s disease. If it appears earlier in age its symptoms will be different, and the disease may progress faster. Its symptoms include – emotional changes, uncontrolled movements, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, problems with memory, focus, multitasking, etc.
There is no cure for Huntington’s disease, but treatment can slow down the progression of the disease and reduces its symptoms.
The link between Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease
Researchers found that these three diseases are caused when abnormal protein build-up happens in the brain. However, both protein and their effects are different with each disease. Like Alzheimer’s is caused by the protein Tau and affects memory, Parkinson’s is caused by alpha-synuclein, and Huntington s disease is caused by huntingtin. Both Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease affect the movement of muscles.
These proteins may be different from each other but work in similar ways when they enter brain cells. These proteins invade vesicles (small compartments that are wrapped in membranes). When proteins damage those membranes, it allows them to attack a cell’s cytoplasm and cause more destruction. The damaged cells try to gather the ruptured vesicles and protein clumps to fight those proteins, but proteins are resistant to them, so they survive.
Now that the researchers understand this process, they’re looking for a way to prevent this mechanism from happening at a cellular level. That way, even if the proteins are different in these conditions, they cannot destroy the cellular system, which prevents the disease from happening.
Researchers have been looking for all-in-one treatment for all 3 diseases to improve mental health in people for a long time.
Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease may not be caused by similar proteins and affects different areas of the brain and body parts that are managed by those areas. But the abnormal protein build-up of these diseases affects brain cells in the same way. So, if researchers find a way to prevent this mechanism, they can prevent these diseases from occurring, which will maintain a healthy nervous system for a long time.
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