Parkinson's disease facts for kids

Sir William Richard Gowers Parkinson sketch.

Parkinson's disease (often called PD or just "Parkinson's") is a condition that slowly affects the central nervous system. This system includes your brain and spine. With Parkinson's, special cells in the brain that produce dopamine start to die. Dopamine is like a messenger. It helps your brain send signals for smooth movement. Because of less dopamine, Parkinson's mostly affects how your body moves.

It's a disease that slowly gets worse over many years. Most people get Parkinson's when they are over 50 years old. It can be tricky for doctors to find early on.

What Causes Parkinson's?

Doctors are still studying exactly what causes Parkinson's disease. They think it might be a mix of things. This includes small changes in a person's genes and other outside factors.

One main cause is when certain brain cells, called ganglions, get damaged. These cells are important for making dopamine. When dopamine production goes down, movement becomes harder.

Sometimes, Parkinson's can be passed down in families. This means it can be a genetic condition. However, this type of Parkinson's is not very common. Research also suggests that people who work with pesticides or have had serious head injuries might have a slightly higher chance of getting PD.

Interestingly, some studies suggest that people who smoke cigarettes might be a little less likely to get Parkinson's disease.

What Are the Symptoms of Parkinson's?

Parkinson's disease can cause many different symptoms. It mainly affects how a person moves. It can also impact their speech, mood, behavior, and even their thinking.

Common symptoms include:

• Tremors: This means parts of the body, like hands, legs, or arms, shake without control.
• Stiff Muscles: Muscles can become very stiff, making it hard to move freely.
• Slow Movement: Simple actions like walking or talking can become very slow and difficult.
• Balance Problems: People might have trouble keeping their balance and could fall more easily.
• Speech Changes: Their voice might become softer or harder to understand.
• Mood Changes: Feelings like depression are common.
• Swallowing Issues: It can become hard to swallow food or drinks.
• Skin Problems: Some people might notice changes in their skin.

These symptoms can make daily activities challenging.

How Is Parkinson's Treated?

Currently, there is no complete cure for Parkinson's disease. However, there are treatments that can help manage the symptoms. The main goal of treatment is often to replace the lost dopamine in the brain.

• Medications:
  • L-dopa: This is a very important medicine. The brain can change L-dopa into dopamine. This helps improve movement. At first, L-dopa works very well. But as the disease progresses, it might not work as effectively.
  • Dopamine Receptor Agonists: These drugs act like dopamine in the brain. They can be used alone or with L-dopa.
  • Anticholinergics: These medicines can help reduce shaking.
  • Selegiline: This drug is meant to protect nerve cells. However, it's not used as often because there isn't strong proof that it helps a lot.

• Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS):

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a type of surgery. It's used for some people with Parkinson's disease when medicines don't work well enough. During DBS, small devices are placed in the brain. These devices send electrical signals to help control movement problems.

These treatments help people with Parkinson's live more comfortably and manage their symptoms.

Images for kids

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  Handwriting of a person affected by PD

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  Parkin crystal structure

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  A Lewy body (stained brown) in a brain cell of the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease: The brown colour is positive immunohistochemistry staining for alpha-synuclein.

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  Pharmacological treatment of Parkinson's disease

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  COMT metabolizes levodopa to 3-O-methyldopa. COMT inhibitors help stop this reaction, allowing for more levodopa to cross the blood-brain barrier and become dopamine where it is needed.

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  Jean-Martin Charcot, who made important contributions to the understanding of the disease and proposed its current name honoring James Parkinson

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  Parkinson's awareness logo with red tulip symbol

See also

In Spanish: Enfermedad de Parkinson para niños