Brain injury by a neurodegenerative disease

Brain damage due to a degenerative disease occurs when, over time, sometimes years, more and more nerve cells or the connections between nerve cells in the brain die. When symptoms become more severe, the disease is called progressive.
In some cases the decline is very rapid, while in other cases people can continue to live a reasonable life for many years.

 

Sometimes the effects of neurodegeneration are solely physical, such as difficulty walking, difficulty moving, or difficulty swallowing and/or speaking.
Other times, both physical and cognitive effects are noticeable. It's also possible that neurodegeneration manifests only as cognitive effects. This is what is commonly called dementia.

 

A neurodegenerative disease is a multisystem disorder. This means that various bodily functions and organs are affected, resulting in a range of symptoms. In neurodegeneration, this is chronic in nature.

 

When your brain is failing... and your body is failing you...

 

The following diseases are classified as neurodegenerative disorders

 

 

Different types of dementia

Dementia is a collective term for diseases that affect brain health. It involves memory impairment combined with one or more other cognitive disorders (aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, executive dysfunction) and a negative impact on daily functioning.

 

It will be necessary to investigate whether there are other possible causes for the cognitive impairment a person experiences.
The body will deteriorate both mentally and physically. There are over fifty types of dementia. Each type is different, but they share the common characteristic of brain damage and a progressive process.
The following types of dementia are the most common:

 

It is touching to see that someone with dementia often remembers music from youth (ages 15-25). Therefore it is recommended that the loved ones create a playlist of the music the person with dementia enjoyed.
The brain areas important for implicit musical memory, particularly procedural musical memory, remain relatively unaffected until the later stages. More information about this can be found on this website.

 

Alcohol

Excessive alcohol consumption appears to be linked to the risk of any type of dementia.
Alcohol is toxic to brain cells. Therefore, the recommendation for adults is to avoid alcohol altogether, or at least not drink more than one glass per day. See also the recommendation of the WHO. 

 

Parkinsonism or Atypical Parkinsonism?

Parkinsonism is also described as hypokinetic rigidity syndrome.
Parkinsonism is a combination of symptoms first described in Parkinson's disease.

However, it is not exclusive to Parkinson's disease. Therefore, a distinction is made between:

  • typical parkinsonism (Parkinson's disease)
  • atypical parkinsonism (other conditions with the characteristic symptoms of impaired muscle control).

We discuss Parkinson's disease on a separate page.

 

Differences

In general, Parkinson's disease progresses more slowly than conditions classified as atypical parkinsonism. Therefore, the future and life expectancy are different for people with atypical parkinsonism. They are more likely to experience problems in daily functioning.
Levodopa (L-dopa) is less effective or ineffective in people with atypical parkinsonism than in people with Parkinson's disease.

 

Similarities
In both forms of parkinsonism, people experience significant stiffness and slowness. In both forms, nerve cells in the brain become progressively damaged. Both forms receive the same types of treatment: occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and medication.
When we speak of 'parkinsonism,' we mean both the typical and atypical forms of hypokinetic rigidity syndrome.

 

The symptoms of parkinsonism may vary from person to person.


Characteristic symptoms of parkinsonism

  • Reduced movement (hypokinesia)
  • Slowed movement (bradykinesia)
  • Trembling and shaking of the arms and legs at rest (rest tremor)
  • Positive posture, postural deviation
  • Disturbed postural reflexes, loss of postural reflexes
  • Stiff limbs

 

A lack of spontaneous movement, a lack of movement, and slowing of movements are observed.
This includes, for example, reduced facial expression: a "masked face" and less arm movement when walking.
A patient may have difficulty getting started, such as getting out of bed or standing up from a chair.
There may be problems with fine motor skills, such as small hand movements.

Often, a patient also has smaller handwriting.
A person may have softer speech and a monotone voice.

 

Additional complaints
Additional problems mentioned in diseases in which parkinsonism occurs are (in alphabetical order):

  • Anxiety
  • Apathy
  • Dementia
  • Depression
  • Problems with:
    • Memory
    • Chewing
    • Low blood pressure upon standing (orthostatic hypotension)
    • Defecation
    • Sleep
    • Swallowing
    • Urination

 

Parkinsonism is caused by damage to the cells of the basal ganglia. This can lead to problems with the ability to control speech, movement, and posture.
It can also cause problems with cognition (the functions of perceiving, thinking, remembering, and applying knowledge) and with emotions and behavior.

 

Basal Ganglia
The basal ganglia (also called basal ganglia) are a group of nuclei in the brain. They are not connected as a single entity, but work together to perform functions. These nuclei play a key role in movement: they help with balance, posture, eye movements, and the initiation and planning of movements. In addition, the basal ganglia are involved in learning simple actions, thought processes, and emotions. For a detailed explanation of what these nuclei do, please visit this page. Here we focus solely on what is important in Parkinsonism.

 

Nigrostriatal pathway
Nerves run from a key area in the brain, the substantia nigra, to the striatum (corpus striatum or striated body). This pathway is called the nigrostriatal pathway and is important for smooth movement. In Parkinsonism, this pathway becomes increasingly dysfunctional.

 

Dopamine
Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that transmits signals. It is produced in the substantia nigra located in the midbrain.
These substantia nigra are part of the basal ganglia.
Dopamine plays an important role in smooth muscle movement. A lack of dopamine can lead to symptoms of Parkinsonism.
Dopamine also influences behavior and psychological problems. Do you want to know more? Read more via this link.

 

Dopamine Deficiency
In Parkinsonism, certain brain cells in the substantia nigra become damaged. These cells produce dopamine, a substance important for proper muscle control.
If the brain cells that need to receive dopamine are damaged, or if they can no longer absorb dopamine due to medication, typical symptoms arise. These include tremors, difficulty moving, stiffness, and posture problems.
The dopamine deficiency can be supplemented with the medication Levodopa, which is converted into dopamine in the brain. Pure dopamine cannot be used as a medication because it does not reach the brain. Read more about Levodopa on this page.

 

Juvenile parkinsonism (JPD) means that parkinsonism symptoms begin before the age of 21. This can include stiff muscles, slow movement, and sometimes tremors in the hands. There can be various causes, such as metabolic disorders, hereditary or autoimmune diseases, oxygen deficiency in the brain, a brain infection, a brain tumor, hydrocephalus, parathyroid problems, or medication side effects.

 

Early-onset parkinsonism (EOPD) is a type of parkinsonism that develops before the age of approximately 40-45.

 

Young-onset parkinsonism (YOPD) is an even more specific classification. Officially, it means that parkinsonism symptoms develop between the ages of 21 and 45.

 

Parkinson's Plus

In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, other symptoms may occur, sometimes referred to as Parkinson's Plus:

 

Diseases that fall under parkinsonism:

 

Vascular parkinsonism is a condition characterized by parkinsonian symptoms caused by chronic disturbances of cerebral blood flow, for example, due to multiple lacunar infarcts in the midbrain or a larger infarction in the basal ganglia.

In approximately a quarter of people with this condition, the symptoms develop acutely. In others, they develop gradually.

 

Senoir mental health

It has been observed that about 7% of the people have a major depressive disorder that profoundly impacts their lives and less than half of them get the help they need.

This depressive disorder may have been caused bij the degeneration process described above. Below you find mental health and recovery resources and help in remodeling home for seniors:

 

 

Resource

https://www.hersenletsel-uitleg.nl/soorten-hersenletsel-hersenaandoeningen/degeneratieve-aandoening