According to a review of the scientific journal on Parkinson’s disease, published by the SISSA research scientists’ – states that the weight of patients suffering from Parkinson disease can be affected by the non motor symptoms associated with the disease. Along with influencing the food habits and changing body weight, the disease also impairs the persons’ ability to derive pleasure from food and discourages any motivation. These studies are helpful in understanding the ways to reduce the adverse effects of the Parkinson disease which aggravates an already harmful medical problem.
There are a series of changes in body that a patient of Parkinson’s go through; they may lose or gain a large amount of weight depending on the stage of the disease or they may also end up putting ten kilos after deep brain simulation (a treatment used to alleviate the symptoms). These only add to the plight of the patients and negatively affect the quality of life which is already in distress by the non responsive motor disorders. Hence, it is vital to understand the issues causing it. The body weight and eating habits of Parkinson’s patients change as the disease progresses. Studies reviewed on the Parkinson’s that provided data on the association between non-motor symptoms and dietary habits and body weight evaluated some factors which, beyond the motor symptoms and drug treatments, might play a role in this problem.
What are the Various Reasons Due To Which Parkinson’s Patients Gain Weight?
Parkinson’s patient suffer from depression, reduced cognitive abilities, sensory deterioration – mainly smell and taste with an impaired facility to receive pleasure from eating that leads to incorrect food habits. From the literature review, an interesting fact about the possible role of ability to feel pleasure and motivation towards consuming food has come forward. Due to the impaired ability to feel pleasure regarding food, Parkinson patients eat less and therefore lose weight. A trend of gaining weight has been observed after deep brain simulation which indicates an elevation in pleasure and motivation towards food consumption. However, specifics studies need to be conducted to refute or confirm the findings. Such studies will help those working with patients by creating awareness about the factors in work in order to come up with solutions to manage the effects of deficits and restore normal weight levels of the individuals already enduring because of the disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease. It circulates α-synuclein accumulation in the human neural system. The most noticeable indicator early in the disease is the progressive deterioration of dopaminergic nigrostriatal & mesocorticolimbic pathways along with motor (rigidity, akinesia and tremor) a&nd non-motor (depression, anxiety, apathy) signs. Other characteristics of the disease are occurrence of non-motor vegetative signs and symptoms explicated by a synucleinopathy of peripheral & central vegetative system & in its advanced stages by the dementia, which links with cortical deposits of alpha-synuclein (intracellular Lewyneurites & Lewy bodies). The body weight of the patient can undergo considerable change over the course of disease increasing the risk for both under nutrition diseases as well as over weight problems.
Factors such as epigenetic, metabolic, genetic & environmental factors define and influence the body weight. In addition to that, physiological setting homeostatic behavioral adjustments can protect against gaining of weight as well as loss of weight.
How Can a Parkinson’s Patient Fight Weight Gain?
It is been found that to combat the weight loss in Parkinson’s patients, weight regulation is a more effective strategy than weight gain. Weight gain take place due to energy balance leaning towards positive which means energy intake is much more than energy outflow resulting in buildup of fats. This calculation seems really simple to maintain. However, sustaining constant weight is challenge due to complex physiological process involving external & internal, homeostatic and hedonic, & neurological & metabolic causes. Maintenance of these systems is further obstructed by the obesogenic environment with easy access to huge amount of appetizing and high energy food coupled with minimum physical activity contributing to obesity in the western countries.
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