Experts should prevent Parkinson disease: Dr K Rosaiah

Chennai

Inaugurating the first annual conference of the Movement Disorders Society of India - MDSICON 2016 - here, he said Parkinson's disease causes many non-motor symptoms such as pain, sleep and mental disturbances.

"Loss of smell sensation and sleep behaviour disorder can occur very early in this disease. It is worrying to note that Parkinson's disease also occurs due to environmental toxins like manganese and some drugs", he said, adding, a healthy lifestyle and good physical exercise could help in improving the well-being of the patients.
 
Stating that keeping oneself mentally active would prevent the advancement of memory loss, Dr Rosaiah said it was a welcome sign that extensive research was being undertaken globally.

He said deep brain stimulation was carried out and it was effective in Parkinson's Disease treatment and was done regularly in the country.

Quoting studies, he said Movement Disorders cause three to eight per cent of neurological disorders and were found more prevalent in rural India.
 
It also reveals that movement disorders comprise of 24 per cent Parkinson's disease which was the commonest movement disorder and was said to increase with longevityin the country.

He said understanding the chemistry of brain and neurotransmitter system was necessary to discover newer drugs which would help modifying the neurotransmitters.

"I am sure advanced treatment such as Deep Brain Stimulation would go a long way in treatment of Parkinson's disease", he added.

He said it was high time that experts in the field of Neuro-Science come forward to prevent increased incidence of Parkinson Disease and added that the study of genetics has played a very important role in recognizing the transmission of diseases to the next generation.

"Such advances have helped us understand this disease better. In addition to this, I am told that toxic substances in the environment can also cause movement disorders", he said.

"It is high time we sensitize the people on the environmental factors that can cause movement disorders", Dr Rosaiah said.