15,000 Malaysians afflicted by Parkinson’s disease

Posted on June 25, 2012, Monday

KOTA KINABALU: Parkinsons disease is a neuro-degenerative disease and it is estimated that there are about 15,000 Malaysians afflicted by it.

According to the consultant neurologist of the Gleneagles Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Mak Choon Soon, the disease is slightly more prevalent among men than women.

It is a disease affecting the elderly where around one per cent of the people over 60 years globally would likely be affected by this disease, Mak said in a health talk on Parkinsons and heart diseases yesterday.

He said the disease occurs due to the depletion of nerve cells in the substantia nigra resulting in the reduction of the neurotransmitter dopamine, to disrupt normal basal ganglia activities.

The activation of other neuro-transmitters in the sub-thalamic nucleus and internal globus pallidus are symptoms and signs of this disease which include, amongst others, resting tremors, bradykinesia, rigidity, shuffling gait and postural instability, he said.

Dr Mak also pointed out that five to ten per cent of family members of a sufferer are likely to be affected by the disease.

Parkinsons disease does not result from something you have done or not done in the past. It is also not caused by overwork or over-indulgence, he stressed.

Dr Mak said currently there is no cure for the disease and treatments are mainly dedicated towards restoring dopamine in the brain.

He stressed that motor symptoms can be well-controlled with treatment, especially in the earlier stage of the disease.

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15,000 Malaysians afflicted by Parkinson’s disease