What is Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a slow and gradual evolution . This problem negatively affects the ability to move the body and limbs.

The first evidence of this disease dates back to more than 4000 years ago while the first textual document dates back to around 1800. This document entitled ” A Treatise on Agitating Paralysis ” was written by an English physician named James Parkinson .

This disease affects men and women alike and the most affected individuals have an age ranging between 55 and 60 years . From 20 to 40 years it is decidedly less common while cases of people under 20 affected by this disease are extremely rare. Statistics show that the higher you get with the age, the higher the risk of contracting this disease.

The causes

At the moment there are no certainties regarding the causes. The only certainty we have is that several factors determine the onset of the disease.

It would seem that the genetic component affects the subject’s possibility of contracting the disease . Investigating the genealogical branch of the sick, very often we find at least one case of a family member affected by the disease .

It is also thought that exposure to pollutants such as hydrocarbons, pesticides or heavy metals can also increase the likelihood of being affected by the disease.

Symptoms

The severity of the disease symptoms gradually increase over time. Due to this slowness very often the first warning signs are not caught . Below you will list a good part of the typical symptoms of the disease.

> Slowness of movement
> Balance disturbance>
Resting
tremor> Stiffness
> Gait disturbance>
Voice alteration
> Hunched posture
> Saliva accumulation
> Constipation
> Swallowing problems
> Sexual impotence
> Blood pressure
disorders> Urinary disorders
> Insomnia
> Smell disorders
> Sweating
> Apathy
> OCD
> Depression and anxiety
> Cognitive disorders and psychosis

Diagnosis

To diagnose whether you have actually been affected by the disease, several tools are used. It will be up to the neurologist to carry out all the necessary investigations .

In addition to investigating the patient’s medical record and his family lineage, the instrumental tests that are used consist of an MRI, DATscan , a brain PET scan and a myocardial scintigraphy.

Thanks to these tests it will be possible to confirm or exclude the real nature of the problem. Very often, in fact, some initial symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are similar common to other pathologies.

The answers of modern medicine

Over the decades, conventional medicine has tried to give different solutions to the problem. At the moment the proposed solutions are only useful to stop the symptoms of the disease. The most common therapy is that based on levodopa .

Medicines such as Madopar and Sinemet are based on this amino acid. Unfortunately, taking these drugs has several side effects that are well known in the medical world.

Aware of the side effects of these drugs, the medical world has explored other avenues to combat the disease in recent years . Several alternatives were explored including transplantation and surgery. Unfortunately, the research carried out so far has given negative results.

New experiments are underway in the present and it is not excluded that in the next decades a valid alternative to the solutions adopted in the present may be found.

Alongside drug therapy, it has emerged that physiotherapy is very useful for patients with Parkinson’s. In addition to containing the aggravation of symptoms, given its purely “mechanical” nature, physiotherapy is totally free of side effects. 

Ganoderma and Parkinson’s disease

First of all I would like to clarify that Ganoderma is not intended as a drug but as a food supplement. The intake of this mushroom is useful because it is able to reduce the symptoms of the disease without adding any side effects as in the case of drugs.

Parkinson’s disease impairs the proper functioning of cells. The Ganoderma fungus has the ability to protect cells as well as to replenish damaged cells . In addition, the Ganoderma (Reishi) mushroom has great antioxidant power. Thanks to this ability it counteracts the action of free radicals which are considered among the triggering factors of the disease.

Taking Ganoderma, in addition to reducing the extent of tremors and improving the ability to move, is particularly useful for slowing down aging as well as the course of the disease.