painful and limit your range of motion.
Imbalanced equilibrium. Your posture may become stooped, or you may have balance problems as a result of Parkinson’s disease.
What causes Parkinson’s disease?
Certain brain neurons gradually break down or die in Parkinson’s patients. Many of the symptoms are due to a loss of neurons that produce dopamine. When dopamine levels decrease, it causes abnormal brain activity, leading to impaired movement and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
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What are the risk factors of Parkinson’s Disease?
Genes, environmental triggers, and the existence of Lewy bodies have all been linked to Parkinson’s. Lewy bodies are clumps of specific substances within brain cells that are microscopic markers of Parkinson’s disease. These are called Lewy bodies, and researchers believe these Lewy bodies hold an important clue to the cause of Parkinson’s disease.
What can be done to prevent Parkinson’s?
Since much is still unknown, proven ways to prevent the disease also remain a mystery.
Some research has shown that regular physical exercise might reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Some other research has shown that people who consume caffeine — which is found in coffee, tea, and cola — get Parkinson’s disease less often than those who don’t drink it. Green tea is also related to a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. However, it is still not known whether caffeine actually protects against getting Parkinson’s, or is related in some other way. Currently, there is not enough evidence to suggest drinking caffeinated beverages to protect against Parkinson’s.
BDO’s Black History of Health series is designed to show the correlation between the health of historical Black figures and Black Americans today. Many of the health disparities we currently experience have been in our community for centuries. This series is meant to bring these conditions to the forefront and provide blacks with preventative and management steps to reduce these disparities and improve the overall health of the Black American community. It’s time to change the narrative.
More Information
The Parkinson’s Foundation has more on living well with Parkinson’s Disease.