What Treatments Are Available?

Unfortunately, to date there is no cure for Parkinson's disease. In fact, there are no treatments that can even slow down or reverse it. However, there is hope. Even though the disease is currently incurable, there are several treatments available that can aid in easing the various symptoms and improve the quality of life for sufferers of this disease. Treatment options should be discussed with your doctor, however, as not all will work for everyone.

Early Stage Treatment
In the first stages of the disease, most patients with Parkinson's have exhibit mild symptoms that require no medical treatment. Occasionally, doctors, will recommend a regime of various supplements as well as some changes to physical activity and diet. This is done to help protect the brain from any further damage.

Early Stages and Neuroprotective L-dopa
Currently, some doctors believe that treatment with L-dopa in the earlier stages of the disease may slow its progress and confer some protection on the cells in the substantia nigra that produce dopamine. But it wasn't all like this. Because of complications that happen with the long-term usage of levodopa, a precursor to dopamine, most doctors traditionally withheld prescribing L-dopa until the symptoms of Parkinson's were severe enough to restrict the person's physical activities.

Types of Medication
As of this writing, conventional treatment for Parkinson's disease focuses on replacing the dopamine that the body is not supplying from other sources. The medications used for that purpose include ropinirole, pramipexole, bromocriptine, pergolide or dopamine agonists that mimic the effects of dopamine, and L-dopa (levodopa, Sinemet), which the body can change into dopamine. One of the troubles with L-dopa is that the body changes it to dopamine before it arrives at the brain, and metabolizes it. It is for this reason that L-dopa is often taken in conjunction with a dopamine inhibitor which prevents the body from converting it before it crosses the blood brain barrier.

Surgical Treatments
There are quite a few surgical treatments which can eliminate or decrease the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. These include surgical measures that destroy tiny clusters of cells in different areas of the brain which cause the well known tremors. One of the newer surgical treatments for Parkinson's disease is DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation). In this procedure, surgeons place electrodes in different areas of the patient's brain. These electrodes are then stimulated by using an electronic device that is very similar to a heart pacemaker.

Two other procedures that are still in the experimental stages of development are surgical implantation of genetically engineered cells that will make dopamine, and the other is the use of stem cells which will grow into dopamine producing cells. These are considered, at present, to be the best opportunities for finding a true cure to Parkinson's disease.

Support Treatments
There are support type treatments available to sufferers of Parkinson's disease. These are given in addition to treatments that directly affect the major symptoms the patient may have. People with Parkinson's often benefit from these support treatments and treatments. One of the most important and useful of these treatments is regular physical exercise.

Exercise helps patients improve and maintain more physical ability as the disease progresses. It also assists them in improving their level of balance. Diet: Many physicians recommend supplementing the patient's daily diet with folic acid, as well as other supplements in order to improve the patient's overall health. Many of these supplements are also used to aid in protecting the brain cells through the use of antioxidants.

Muscle Therapy: Many patients with Parkinson's disease also use massage therapy and other alternative therapies in their quest for better function of the body and more quality of life. These are especially useful in the earlier stages of the disease.

Antidepressants: Due to the fact that the loss of dopamine producing cells seems to affect so many other pathways in the brain, some patients with Parkinson's disease benefit greatly from antidepressant medications and therapy. This, too, helps with the quality of life issue.