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Parkinson's Disease Case Study

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Fecal Microbiota Transplantation as a prospective Cure for Parkinson's disease : what do we know so far.

INTRODUCTION

PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Parkinsons disease is considered one of the most prevalent and debilitating neurodegenerative disorder affecting 1-2 people per 1000 population at any given time. the disease affects 1% of the american population over the age of 60 (an estimated 1 million people) and globally over 3 million patients and caregivers suffer from its burden. parkinsons disease is characterised by an array of motor symptoms ranging from trmors,rigidity,bradykinesia (often akinesia),postural abnormalities (often charecterised by a shuffling gait)as well as many non motor symptoms with some of the most commonly reported …show more content…
Most of the patients on long term Dopamine replacement thereapy degenerate over time due to narrowing of the therapeutic window and most patients suffer from either a disabling dyskinesia,occasional psychosis (a side effect of drug therapy) or characteristic disease related symptoms (tremors,rigidity) during the "off" period. It is widely hypothised that the currently available first line drug therapy , levodopa , itself over a course of prolonged use causes "MPTP metabolite" mediated damage to the dopaminergic neurons in the striatal cortex resulting in the narrowing of he therapeutic window.
Many patients also devolop dopamine resistant motor as well as non motor symptoms over years of treatment and are poor candidates for further medial therapy.
The current surgical options available for treatment of the disease are limited.one of the earliest developed surgical treatment modalities includes thalamotomy/pallidotomy which aims at destroying small areas of the brain,namely the globus pallidus and certain thalamic nuclei that are responsible for the disease …show more content…
Once in place, the pacemaaker generates impulses to stimulate the implanted electrodes that then blocls the signals that leadds to the motor symptoms of Parkinso's disease.
Although these surgical otions for treatment of parkinsons disease have been reserved for patients who initially responded well to levodopa therapy but now have become resistant to it, side effects such as brain haemorrhage, frequent infections and the high cost and limited data regarding these treatment modalities have limited their use. supplemental therapies for parkison's involves antioxidants, coenzyme Q ,excercise and physiotherapy which all have a role to play in the symptomatic managament and decreasing the mporbidity associated with the disease but they have not been found to alter the course of the disease.

the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's

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