Saturday, December 15, 2007

The symptoms of Parkinson's patients

Anxiety includes feelings of panic, fear, or uneasiness that patients may experience for a variety of reasons. Symptoms may include obsessive thoughts, nightmares, problems sleeping, cold or sweaty hands, shortness of breath, palpitations, and nausea

Muscle spasticity is characterized by tight, stiff muscles and is a common symptom of several neurological disease, causing cramping, stiffness, and muscle discomfort

A feeling of slowness of "bradykinesia" is one of the cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's disease. People may have to concentrate very hard to carry out physical movements, or they may react more slowly to things going on in their environment. Some people also have trouble initiating movement

Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion or loss of strength typically resulting from muscle weakness or spasticity. Patients experience tiredness, dwindling strength, and lack of energy.

Daytime Sleepiness, or "somnolence" makes people feel compelled to nap repeatedly during the day, often at inappropriate times such as at work, during a meal, or in conversation. These daytime naps usually provide no relief from symptoms

Insomnia refers to a variety of difficulties in obtaining a full, restful night's sleep. Patients suffering from insomnia may have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, may wake up frequently during the night, or wake up earlier in the morning than desired

Memory problems in Parkinson's disease usually consist of slowness in learning new things or a feeling that memories are recalled more slowly. In particular, spatial memory can be affected, causing problems copying diagrams or remembering direction

Depression is a change in mood that causes people to feel sad or hopeless for an extended period of time. Depression can be a progressive condition - patients who do not seek treatment for their depression are likely to become even more depressed over time.

Excess saliva in neurological diseases is caused not because of an excess of saliva but because an individual no longer swallows the saliva as effectively. This can lead to drooling, coughing, and/or aspiration (entry of saliva into the breathing passages, which can cause infection). .

Individuals may experience constipation as a result of immobility, leg weakness, changes in diet (less fiber), or a decrease in drinking fluids. Constipation is defined not only by how frequently you move your bowels, but also by whether the stools are hard, dry or difficult to pass

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