Dyskinesia is a known side effect of the medication levodopa, commonly used for Parkinson's. Unfortunately, the underlying cause of dyskinesia is yet to be discovered. Normal brain function depends on different chemicals, one being dopamine. In Parkinson's dopamine levels can be low or fluctuating.
Dyskinesia is a known side effect of the medication Levodopa, commonly used for Parkinson's. Unfortunately, the underlying cause of dyskinesia is yet to be discovered. Normal brain function depends on different chemicals, one being dopamine. In people with Parkinson's dopamine levels can be low or fluctuating.
The medical definition of Dyskinesia is the “involuntary movement that may occur with long-term levodopa use and long time with Parkinson’s.” It can involve one part of your body, like a leg or arm, or it can affect the entire body. To those who see someone with this disorder, they may appear to be fidgeting, wriggling, or body swaying. It is important to know that this is an involuntary movement and cannot be stopped or controlled except with the proper therapies and medications. Even then, though, the things that the person does may never truly go away or be controlled.
Dyskinesia is one of the shared symptoms of people who have Parkinson’s disease on levodopa medication. They will also suffer from tremors, slowed movement, rigid muscles, speech changes, and writing changes. For those with this, most say that dealing with dyskinesia is easier to live with than any of the other symptoms. However, there are those that have painful episodes of it and that can interfere with their lives and being able to be a part of social get-together or their daily activities.
Doctors are uncertain as to what may cause people to develop dyskinesia. They have found a link between those who present all of the signs and some of the chemicals found in the brain, like serotonin, glutamate, and dopamine. Dopamine plays a pivotal role. People with Parkinson’s have low levels of dopamine. One of the chief medications helps to restore it, but the fluctuation can make it impossible to keep a steady level, which contributes to Dyskinesia.
Feeling stressed or excited can trigger an episode of Dyskinesia. Again, the change in serotonin and dopamine in the system will alter and make the part of the body affected by the disease begin to shake. If you are a person who uses Parkinson’s disease medications over long-term use, you can also develop an issue that will cause an episode.
Levodopa is the primary medication given to a person with Parkinson's. It was created in the 1960s and has been considered one of the most recent medical breakthroughs. If you have been taking it and are starting to see that it is not as effective as before, try changing the dose or the timing in which you take it. By switching this up, you can keep your system from becoming too dependent on what it does. There is also the idea of switching the formulation to an extended-release or gel infusion.
You can also add amantadine, which worked to regulate the glutamate chemical in the brain. It is also an antiviral medicine that blocks viruses in the body and can aid in dealing with the stiffness or tremors that Parkinson’s disease will cause. It is should be used as a booster to Levodopa and not as a replacement to getting the flu shot or any other treatments against viruses a person may get. Only after all other avenues of medicines have been exhausted should people with Dyskinesia consider undergoing deep brain stimulation, which is a surgical procedure to help with counteracting the firing off of synapsis that causes the shaking effects.
There is research being done to better understand dyskinesia. They are trying to pinpoint what causes it and what kind of treatments can be developed to keep it from happening. There are also several drug clinical tests that are being done right now to test the chemicals in the brain and test the different pathways they travel. Dopamine levels have been the primary source found in these tests to be a cause, but doctors are not stopping at looking at only it.
Surgical trials are also in effect as they look for ways to optimize brain stimulation and see if there may be any non-invasive procedures that can be done to keep from having to open a person’s skull. Focused ultrasound treatments have shown the best results thus far. All data has been submitted to the Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale to measure the impact the trials have on the disorder to make sure that the best results are found.
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