Challenges in Successfully Curing Parkinson Disease - Essay Example

Parkinson’s symptoms begin to become visible when at least 70% of the cells tasked with the production of dopamine stop functioning normally. The disease, however, cannot be cured, and the most effective treatment entails the management of its symptoms. This requires that patients are put through a combination of multi-functional support and medication, which ensures that they can live productive and independent lives for as long as possible (Shenkman, 2013: p.13). Treatments for Parkinson’s disease are neither able to arrest nor completely cure the onset of the condition.

Successfully treating Parkinson’s disease is faced by the challenge that, empirically no particular cure for the illness exists. While some cases of the disease seem to be an outcome of genetic disposition or defects, other cases seem to be as a consequence of exposure to certain viral bodies or toxic substances (Shenkman, 2013: p.32). In addition, some researchers believe that Parkinson’s disease is a resultant of a combination of underlying genetic sensitivity and disposition and exposure to disease factors in the environment. Thus, it is difficult to treat the disease successfully because its cause is usually unknown. Moreover, it is very difficult to diagnose Parkinson’s disease, which makes successful treatment difficult. During the initial stages, it tends to have mild symptoms that can be attributed to the normal cycle of aging (Shenkman, 2013: p.32). Some of these symptoms include shuffling of the feet, difficulty in balancing, and hand tremors. This makes the chances of early diagnosis and treatment difficult and, by the time that the individual is recognized as suffering from Parkinson’s disease, it may already be too advanced to be successfully managed or treated.

Because the therapies currently in use are normally aimed at improving the patient’s motor skills, features of the disease that are not related to motor functioning have been fingered as the main causes of disability, which is the most recognizable feature of advanced Parkinson’s disease (Shenkman, 2013: p.37). However, the prevalent relationship between this disability and the progression of the disease is not linear, which makes successful treatment more difficult. While motor symptoms are initially related to disability, progression of Parkinson’s disease results in disability that has more pronounced relationships to motor function symptoms that do not sufficiently respond to medication. Examples of these include problems with balance and gait, difficulties in speech, and difficulties in swallowing. In addition, the disability is related to motor difficulties, which arise because of the medication used to treat the disease with Shenkman (2013: p.38) contending that there are motor complications in over half of patients who use levodopa to replace the loss of dopamine production. Finally, patients with advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease tend to have sleep problems, mood alterations, autonomic disturbances, and cognitive decline, all of which increase disability that cannot be treated using medication (Shenkman, 2013: p.39).