My granddad would walk everyday to acquire food or shop. His favorite things to do were visit the pier’s stores and attend church on Sundays. COVID-19 transformed everyone’s life.

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My granddad would walk everyday to acquire food or shop. His favorite things to do were visit the pier’s stores and attend church on Sundays. COVID-19 transformed everyone’s life. Lockdowns made my family less active and prohibited certain activities. This impacted my grandpa hard since he had Parkinson’s and is now more sedentary. He has a tremor in his hands, eating has become difficult, and his memory has diminished during the previous two years. We first felt this was because we were more sedentary. We concerned about my grandfather’s health and insisted him see a doctor. Parkinson’s illness was discovered after a few tests.

My family struggled to see my grandpa age and get ill. The symptoms developed softly, almost imperceptibly for someone nearing 80. When eating, walking, and talking became difficult, we had him get checked out. As a neurodegenerative illness, Parkinson’s should be tested for alongside Alzheimer’s. Final diagnosis ruled out other neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer’s was ruled out since his symptoms lacked language and memory onset. (Group, Moderator). I’m unclear about his ultimate diagnosis since it was done in a third-world nation.

Parkinson’s diagnosis depends on certain brain regions. Basal ganglia are part of the CNS and located near the brain’s center. Basal ganglia are brain regions that impact the body (Basal ganglia). Basal ganglia govern movement (Basal ganglia). The substantia nigra controls the body’s motions (Substantia nigra). Substantial nigra generates movement-controlling dopamine (Substantia nigra). In a healthy person, approximately 50 or younger, dopamine production is normal and there is no neuronal degeneration, so bodily movement and speech should be easy.

Parkinson’s disease has numerous varying symptoms (“Parkinson’s disease”). It’s a neurodegenerative illness, which means the CNS degrades and dies (neurodegenerative disorder”). As Parkinson’s advances, more symptoms appear. Parkinson’s disease damages the CNS and body-controlling nerves. Parkinson’s symptoms normally start on one side of the body and move to the other (“Parkinson’s illness”). Parkinson’s disease causes tremors, sluggish movement, tight muscles, poor posture and balance, loss of instinctive motions, speech and writing problems. Parkinson’s patients’ brains contain Lewy bodies and alpha-synuclein (“Parkinson’s disease”). Lewy bodies are Parkinson’s disease indicators. Scientists think alpha-synuclein, a clumping protein in Lewy bodies, causes Parkinson’s disease.

Scientists don’t know why Parkinson’s causes brain alterations.

Parkinson’s disease symptoms arise when basal ganglia nerve cells deteriorate or die. Parkinson’s disease occurs when nerve cells in the basal ganglia generate less dopamine. Basal ganglia govern movement (Challenged, 2018). In the basal ganglia’s substantia nigra, dopamine dies (Challenged, 2018). The substantia nigra is vital for bodily movement and chemical signaling that influences learning, emotion, judgment, and decision-making (Substantia nigra). Substantia nigra degeneration reduces dopamine production and disturbs homeostasis. In advanced Parkinson’s, the deteriorating substantia nigra increases iron levels (Double et al., 2000).

Parkinson’s has no cure. Some drugs enhance dopamine in the brain to help regulate non-movement symptoms and neurotransmitters to better transport information between brain cells (“Parkinson’s disease: Causes, symptoms, and therapies”). Massage, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, as well as a good diet and exercise, may help control Parkinson’s symptoms. Parkinson’s disease seems to be a mix of hereditary and environmental factors (Challenged, 2018). When my grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease last year after changing his lifestyle due to the pandemic, I wanted to understand more about the normal brain and how his Parkinson’s-affected brain differed. I wanted to know the onset age and whether it was genetic to assess my risk. It’s incurable. Some drugs boost dopamine’s precursor, but that’s all. I’ve always desired a profession in medicine, and coming from a family with a susceptibility to numerous illnesses makes me want to assist others and be part of the research that may uncover a solution for neurodegenerative disorders and more.