When a person is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at an age less than 50 the disorder is identified as young on set of Parkinson’s disease. The symptoms are again idiopathic in nature.
Why is it essential to understand the young onset of Parkinson’s?
People who have young Parkinson’s disorder have a tendency to neglect the symptoms and care less about them. They are often young parents and luckily have their peers to watch them over in their struggle while it’s not the same with the older Parkinson’s.
The young Parkinson’s are an outcome of environmental exposure to a toxin or the mutations in the genes. The young minds respond better to the treatment and are capable of adapting to the changes the drug induces. Thereby the treatment too can be successful. The doctors define this as neuroplasticity.
The Parkinson’s disease specialists categorise the young Parkinson’s onset of age as 40, 50 or even 55. Those of who are undergoing extreme stress may have it at 50 while the one who gets it at the age of 40 and below is categorized as disorder that is induced due to the genes.
What are the statistics of the disease?
The disease is still believed to be the one that comes as age advances and not among the youngsters. The cases reported says that at least 2 % of the one million populations have young onset of Parkinson’s disorder which calls for seriousness about the disease and the issues concerned.
What are the symptoms of the young-onset of Parkinson’s?
The changes seen in young-onset and old-onset of Parkinson’s differ in many ways in each and every patient.The most common symptoms observed in young-onset Parkinson’s are as follows-
- The disease progresses gradually
- Affects normal movement
- Suffers Dementia
- Side effects of L-DOPA treatments resulting in dyskinesias
What is the role of genetics in young-onset of PD?
LRRK2 and Parkin9 are supposed to be the genes that induce and increase the riskof Parkinson’s between the age group 20 and 30.
The genes that cause young –onset of Parkinson’s disease can also cause old-onset of Parkinson’s. The people who are suspected to have these genes might not get Parkinson’s disease at all in their lifetime.
The theories affirm that the environmental factor in combination with the mutations in the genes are the most acceptable factor and plays a pivotal role in the young onset of Parkinson’s disease. A thorough observation and study will reveal more secrets with respect to the different causes of PD.
What is the treatment opted for the young-onset of PD?
A person with the young onset of PD should consult a neurologist who has professional experience and is able to understand your disease and figure out a treatment that works best for you. These patients have a tendency to develop Dyskinesias and the side effects of consumption of Levodopa leads to changes in motor skills.
What is Juvenile Parkinsonism?
It is a disorder found in juveniles i.e. children and teenagers which are a resultant of genetic mutations prone to a high risk of Parkinson’s disease.This phenomenon is diagnosed as Juvenile Parkinsonism.