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Parkinson's Signs
Despite clear clinical guidelines, many Parkinson's disease patients in India are being referred too late for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), reducing the potential benefits of the procedure, AIIMS experts said. DBS, a well-established surgical therapy for Parkinson's, is recommended for carefully selected patients who respond poorly to levodopa, the most effective medicine for managing the disease, develop disabling motor complications such as fluctuations and dyskinesias despite optimised medical therapy, and also develop unpredictable "on-off" periods. "On" periods are when Parkinson's symptoms are well controlled with medication, while "off" periods are when the medication effect wears off, and symptoms (like rigidity, tremor, and slowness) reappear. DBS also reduces medication dose, prevents complications like dyskinesias (medicine-induced abnormal movements), hallucinations, nausea and hypotension. It also helps to reduce multiple medicines, said Dr P Sarat Chandra, Head of ...
More than 2.5 crore people in the world could be living with Parkinson's disease by 2050, largely driven by an ageing population, according to a study. Researchers, including those from the Capital Medical University, China, said the projected numbers are a 112 per cent increase from cases in 2021. Further, cases of the neurological disorder from South Asia are predicted to be the second highest at 68 lakh, following East Asia (over 1 crore), the findings, published in The British Medical Journal, suggested. The researchers said the estimates could "serve as an aid in promoting health research, informing policy decisions and allocating resources". Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder in which one's movements and balance are steadily affected. The condition can also cause problems with speech, memory and behaviour. Symptoms include tremors in parts of the body and muscle stiffness. The researchers analysed data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to estimate