How Therapy Helps Ms And Parkinsons
While there are differences in Parkinsons and MS, physical, occupational and speech therapy can help both MS and PD patients improve their independence and safety, as well as achieve and maintain optimal function and cognition. Therapy can help prevent complications such as de-conditioning, muscle weakness from lack of mobility and muscle contractures related to spasticity. Training in energy conservation techniques and the use of adaptive tools and devices can help simplify everyday tasks. Therapists can even recommend strategic modifications to your home to ensure accessibility and safety even as the disease progresses.
Clinicians certified in LSVT ® and PWR! therapeutic programs can provide Parkinsons-specific exercises to target weight shifting, posture, trunk rotation and stepping strategies to overcome rigidity and slowness of movement. Education on specific exercises and strategies helps increase safety and slow the progression of the disease.
Researchers Explore Efficacy Of Methylphenidate For Mental Fatigue In Multiple Sclerosis
A team of researchers at Kessler Foundation studied the effects of methylphenidate on mental fatigue in individuals with multiple sclerosis . This is the first study to examine the psychostimulant’s effects on ‘state’ vs ‘trait’ mental fatigue in MS. The article, “Methylphenidate may improve mental fatigue in individual with multiple sclerosis: A pilot clinical trial,” was published online on September 20, 2021, by Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.
The majority of individuals with MS experience physical and mental fatigue, a symptom that adversely affects their quality of life and contributes to disability. Mental fatigue, which is attributed to dopamine imbalance, may occur over time or at a defined moment . Methylphenidate, a psychostimulant that blocks catecholamine reuptake, including dopamine, alleviates fatigue in traumatic brain injury, Parkinson disease, and other neurological conditions. Evidence for the efficacy of psychostimulants for MS-related fatigue is inconclusive.
To assess the efficacy of methylphenidate for MS-related mental fatigue, Foundation researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover randomized control trial. Twelve participants with self-reported mental fatigue were tested for trait and state fatigue at baseline, after 4 weeks of methylphenidate, and after 4 weeks of placebo.
Explore further
Who Gets Als And Ms
MS is estimated to affect over 2.3 million people worldwide, with approximately 1 million of them in the United States.
Around 30,000 people in the United States live with ALS, according to the Hospital for Special Surgery. Over 5,600 people in the country are diagnosed with ALS every year.
There are several risk factors that may affect who develops ALS and MS.
You May Like: Parkinson Disease And Tooth Extraction
Causes And Risk Factors
The causes of Parkinsons disease are multifactorial and still not entirely agreed upon. Researchers now know that both genetic factors and certain environmental/lifestyle habits contribute to Parkinsons development. While the exact combination of factors causing Parkinsons disease have yet to be proved definitively, a few theories show strong validity.
Factors that contribute to Parkinsons disease include:
- Genetics: Recently theres been some major advances in the field of cognitive disorders, including identifying several genes that put someone at a great risk for disorders like Parkinsons, as well as locating regions of the brain involved in age-related cognitive decline.
- Brain cell deterioration and inflammation: The latest research suggests that deterioration of an area of the brain called the substantia nigra plays a role in cognitive disorders, including Parkinsons. The substantia nigra normally produces brain cells that are responsible for neurotransmitter production, including making the chemical dopamine, which is crucial for learning, muscle control, memory and behavior regulation.
- Toxicity and exposure to chemicals
- Poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle
- Hormonal imbalances and other medical conditions
Research shows that risk factors for Parkinsons disease can include:
Key Difference Ms Vs Parkinsons
MS and Parkinsons disease are two diseases affecting the central nervous system. Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune, T-cell mediated inflammatory disease affecting the central nervous system. On the other hand, Parkinsons disease is a movement disorder characterized by a decline in the dopamine level of the brain. Although MS is an autoimmune disorder, there is no immune component in the pathogenesis of Parkinsons disease. This is the key difference between MS and Parkinsons.
Also Check: Amino Acids And Parkinson’s
Cidp And Not Something Else
To diagnose CIDP, doctors rule out other causes of your symptoms. Itâs often a process of elimination, nerve conduction tests, MRI and nerve biopsy to list of tests you may get. But there are differences.
Guillain-Barre syndrome comes on and goes away quickly. People with it may recover within 3 months. CIDP gets worse more slowly and often lingers for several months or even years.
Both multiple sclerosis and CIDP involve damage to the sheath that surrounds nerves, called myelin. But multiple sclerosis is a disease affecting the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. CIDP doesnât affect these areas of the body.
People with multifocal motor neuropathy or Lewis-Summer syndrome usually have weakness on one side of the body. In CIDP, the symptoms are on both sides. The symptoms of MMN donât usually include loss of sensation, as CIDP does.
Even if a doctor isnât certain you have CIDP, they may decide to treat you for it. Left untreated, 30% of people diagnosed with CIDP will need a wheelchair to get around. Early recognition of the condition and prompt, thorough treatment will aid in your recovery.
Show Sources
What Is A Differential Diagnosis
A differential diagnosis provides a sound way to evaluate the patients symptoms, list diseases likely to cause the symptoms, and eliminate those diseases less likely to be causing the patients clinical picture. Tests can help to confirm likely causes and rule out less likely diseases. Eliminating the less likely diseases helps clinicians more readily diagnose MSA.
Listed below are several conditions that should be eliminated through testing during a comprehensive differential diagnosis:
Also Check: Parkinson’s Loss Of Balance
Is There A Link
Some people have MS and Parkinsonâs, but it could be a coincidence.
Research suggests that the damage that MS causes to your brain can lead some people to develop Parkinsonâs later on.
If you have MS, your immune system triggers ongoing inflammation. This can create lesions in your brain that cause Parkinsonâs disease. If lesions form in certain spots in your brain, they can affect how it makes dopamine.
Common Misdiagnosis: Multiple Sclerosis
One of the most common answers to the question was multiple sclerosis . Both diagnoses have an effect on the central nervous system. These diagnoses also frequently cause muscle spasms, balance changes, tremor, and impaired memory. However, these are two separate diagnoses.
One difference is that MS is often diagnosed when someone is in their 20s, while most people receive a PD diagnosis in their 60s. Also, MS is an autoimmune disease that over time causes nerve damage. Parkinsons affects the brain. The brain starts producing less and less dopamine, which is responsible for controlling movement.
Yes, with MS which I was worried about for years, but right now I do not know which one is worse. However, my meds are helping a lot. My new saying is It is what it is, aka just live on. My neurologist says that I have stage one mild Parkinson’s disease.
My husband was diagnosed with MS back in 1993 when he had a mini stroke. He was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2014.
Read Also: Typical Age For Parkinson’s Disease
Gait In People With Ms
Long double-support time, slow gait speed, and short swing time were significantly different daily life gait measures in MS from MS-Ctl. Indeed, gait speed double-support time and swing time as a percent of the gait cycle all discriminated gait in people with MS from gait in healthy control people over a week of daily life with a similar, excellent area under the curve . In contrast, in the laboratory, the toe-off angle was the only laboratory gait measure that discriminated our mild-moderate MS from MS-Ctl group during comfortable-pace gait after Bonferronis correction for 13 gait characteristics. This result is consistent with our previous report of a small toe-off angle in a separate group of people with MS during a 2-min walk in the laboratory . The toe-off angle is a surrogate for the push-off phase of gait produced by the power in the gastrocnemius-soleus complex, responsible for stride length and gait speed.
Multiple Sclerosis Vs Parkinsons Disease Differences In Symptoms Causes And Treatment
Written byDr. Victor MarchionePublished onJune 10, 2016
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune condition that affects the nervous system, while Parkinsons disease is a progressive neurological disorder affecting movement. Symptoms of multiple sclerosis and Parkinsons disease are quite similar at times, but there are distinct differences setting the two conditions apart.
Causes of multiple sclerosis and Parkinsons disease are not well known, although there is some speculation to their roots. We will outline those speculated causes and highlight the symptoms, risk factors, complications, treatment, and therapies for both multiple sclerosis and Parkinsons disease to raise your awareness on each disorder.
Don’t Miss: Primidone For Parkinson’s Disease
Research To Find Msa Biomarkers And An Earlier Msa Diagnosis
An important goal of the Coalitions MSA Research Program is to fund and encourage the development of biomarkers to distinguish PD from MSA at a much earlier stage.The stakes are high.An accurate biomarker could lead to quicker development of treatments.In fact, a concern in past clinical trials of MSA treatments that failed is that maybe the patients in the trial are too late stage to show effectiveness.Increasing the number of known early stage MSA patients could improve the likelihood of finding treatments and even a cure.
Cerebral Palsy Vs Parkinsons Disease
Parkinsons disease is a nervous system disorder that affects a persons movement. It occurs when certain nerve cells in the brain break down or die. Parkinsons is a progressive condition wherein symptoms start mild and worsen over time.
Symptoms of Parkinsons disease vary greatly based on age and severity. They often affect one side of the body more than the other. These symptoms include :
- Muscle stiffness
- Tremors
- Delayed movements
Like CP, Parkinsons does not have a cure. As for causes, cerebral palsy can often be linked to a specific birth injury, while many cases of Parkinsons are of unknown origin. Both genetic and environmental factors may play a role in the development of Parkinsons . Additionally, the onset of Parkinsons usually occurs later in life, with most people developing the disease at 60 years of age or older. CP is most commonly diagnosed during childhood.
Also Check: Green Tea For Parkinson’s
Summary Parkinsons Vs Myasthenia Gravis
Parkinsons and myasthenia gravis are neurological disorders that have a very deteriorating impact on the quality of life of the patient. The main difference between Parkinsons and myasthenia gravis is their autoimmune component.
Reference:
1. Kumar, Parveen J., and Michael L. Clark. Kumar & Clark clinical medicine. Edinburgh: W.B. Saunders, 2009.
Image courtesy:
1. Sir William Richard Gowers Parkinson Disease sketch 1886 2 By Sir_William_Richard_Gowers_Parkinson_Disease_sketch_1886.jpg:derivative work: Malyszkz Sir_William_Richard_Gowers_Parkinson_Disease_sketch_1886.jpg via Commons Wikimedia2. DiplopiaMG1 By James Heilman, MD Own work via Commons Wikimedia
Sonda Is Clinically Relevant
The SONDA paradigm allows for a comprehensive examination of eye-movements that provides detailed information on the dynamics and statistical properties of saccades, as well as a novel set of spatio-temporal properties that quantify both smooth and saccadic pursuit behavior. Given the large number of parameters, our technique also opens up possibilities for machine-learning-aided diagnosis of neuro-ophthalmic and neurological impairment based on eye movements. We and others have previously demonstrated the feasibility of such an approach for identifying ophthalmic disorders , and for neurological conditions . Compared to other high-throughput eye-tracking tests, SONDA has two main advantages. First, excluding calibration , the whole assessment takes only 4 min . Second, our task and stimulus were designed to be as intuitive and simple as possible to avoid confounding factors that may be caused by natural or more complex stimuli, or complicated instructions resulting in a higher cognitive load.
Also Check: Can A Datscan Diagnose Parkinsons
New Discovery Provides Hope For Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS , is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no official treatment. However, in 2009 researchers reported on a group of patients with ALS and how they responded to being treated with stem cells. The majority of them did unbelievably well. And now, another study is again showing promise with stem cells.
How Are They Alike
MS and Parkinsonâs both affect your central nervous system, which includes your brain and spinal cord. Thatâs why they both can affect how you move, sleep, feel, and talk.
These diseases both affect your nerves. MS can break down the coating, called myelin, that surrounds and protects your nerves. In Parkinsonâs, nerve cells in a part of your brain slowly die off.
Both can start out with mild symptoms, but they get worse over time.
Common symptoms of both diseases include:
- Shaky fingers, hands, lips, or limbs
- Slurred speech thatâs hard for others to understand
- Numb or weak limbs that make your walk unsteady
- Loss of muscle control that often affects one side of your body at first, then later both
- Spastic limb movements that are hard to control
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Poor balance
Depression is another symptom common to both conditions.
Don’t Miss: What Diseases Are Similar To Parkinson’s
So What Is It Is It Parkinsons Disease Or Is It Something Else
The answer is not easy, but many who feel they have more than Parkinsons may in fact have multiple system atrophy .MSA is a very rare disorder that has similarities and features of Parkinsonism.However, it is so rare that many physicians are unfamiliar with it and so the diagnosis is not considered. As a result, a likely diagnosis of MSA might be delayed by years and even missed all together. Whats more, due to many symptoms that could possibly be attributed to other conditions diagnosing MSA can be challenging, even to the most experienced doctors. This can be very frustrating to those who know it is more than PD.
Ethics Approval And Consent To Participate
The study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Oregon Health & Science University institutional review board with written informed consent from all subjects. All subjects gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The protocols were approved by the OHSU IRB .
Read Also: Is There Pain With Parkinson’s
Legal Help For Cerebral Palsy
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, please contact our team of birth injury attorneys at ABC Law Centers . For decades, we have been helping families whose children have cerebral palsy. We have numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements that attest to our success, and we will fight to obtain the compensation you and your family deserve. We will evaluate your case to determine if your newborn suffered injuries due to the negligence of the physician or medical staff, and you never pay any money until we win your case.
Reiter and Walsh goes above and beyond the norm in getting their clients the best possible results. Each client is treated with respect and compassion, and they are truly sensitive to what it means to help a family whose child has been injured.
-Client review from 11/23/2015
Free Case Review | Available 24/7 | No Fee Until We Win
Press the Live Chat button on your browser
Autism: No Link To Lyme Disease
In 2013, scientists analyzed serum samples of 120 children, including 70 with autism and 50 without autism. None of the 120 children tested positive for anti-bodies to Lyme using well established two-tier testing.
The scientists concluded:
The studys sample size is large enough to effectively rule out the suggested high rates of Lyme disease or associated seroprevalence among affected children.
NIH scientists performed a similar study by looking at 183 children: 104 with autism, 24 with developmental delays, and 55 neurotypical controls. All 183 children tested negative for Lyme antibodies and had no history of Lyme disease.
The NIH scientists concluded:
There was no evidence of an association between Lyme disease and autism.
Thankfully, the Lyme-Induced Autism Foundation is now defunct. Sadly, many of the doctors who spoke at Lyme-Induced Autism conferences are still practicing.
Don’t Miss: Is Coughing A Sign Of Parkinson’s Disease
Multiple Sclerosis Vs Parkinsons Disease: Risk Factors And Complications
Risk factors for multiple sclerosis include being female, having a family history of multiple sclerosis, having certain infections, being white of European descent, living furthest from the equator, living in temperate climate regions, already having an autoimmune disease, and smoking.
Complications resulting from multiple sclerosis include muscle stiffness and spasms, paralysis, problems with bladder, bowel, and sexual function, as well as forgetfulness, mood changes, depression, and epilepsy.
Risk factors for Parkinsons disease include being over the age of 50, being male, having a family history of Parkinsons disease, carrying gene variations, experiencing a head injury, being exposed to environmental toxins, and taking certain medications such as anti-anxiety medications or sleeping pills.
Complications associated with Parkinsons disease include difficulty thinking, depression, emotional changes, swallowing problems, sleep problems and disorders, bladder issues, constipation, changes in blood pressure, smell dysfunction, fatigue, pain, and sexual dysfunction.
How Do Als And Ms Affect You Mentally
For people with ALS, symptoms remain largely physical. In fact, in many people with ALS, mental function remains intact even when most of their physical capabilities have been affected.
However, according to the ALS Foundation, its been estimated that up to 50 percent of people with ALS may experience some mild to moderate cognitive or behavioral changes due to the disease.
As it progresses, some people have gone on to develop dementia.
In MS, mental capabilities are usually more affected than in ALS.
People with MS can experience severe mental changes, including:
- mood shifts
Recommended Reading: Vagus Nerve Stimulation And Parkinson’s