Very little is known about the early stage of Parkinson's disease
One of the main reasons why Parkinson's disease is seen as an incurable disease is the fact that it is diagnosed late and mostly at that stage from where it is difficult to reverse the progress of the disease.
To understand Parkinson's disease better so that it can help in its treatment, researchers at Cardiff University are using newer techniques to understand the condition's earliest causes, a BBC report said.
Signs of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is associated with slow movement, tremor, rigidity, walking and imbalance along with cognitive impairment, mental health disorders, and sleep disorders.
This degenerative condition of the brain leads to involuntary movements and sometimes painful involuntary muscle contractions which subsequently affect the quality of life of an individual.
Many people also develop dementia in due course of time.
Parkinson's disease is the second common brain degenerative condition after Alzheimer's disease.
"There's a window of time before cells begin to die"
"The journey of Parkinson's, we think, is quite a long one," Dr Dayne Beccano-Kelly, the lead researcher told BBC.
Dr Dayne told the media that by the time the disease is detected there is already massive loss in the individual. He stresses on the fact that the degeneration does not happen overnight and cognition stops working at much earlier stages.
So, how are they planning to understand it?
The researchers are collecting skin cell samples from people with Parkinson's and those who do not have it. They develop the cells into neurons or brain cells and in the process learn the "electrical communication happening between the cells".
"The idea is we're trying to listen in to the cross-talk or the communication between neurons in the brain... a bit like a secret agent listening in to a conversation between two people," Dr Dayne told the media.
The objective is to know the differences in Parkinson's cells and non-Parkinson's cells.
This can bring up several factors that kill the brain cells one of which is its inability to discard waste proteins inside them.
Why is this research important?
Global estimates in 2019 showed over 8.5 million individuals with this condition, a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals.
The WHO report also says that the prevalence of Parkinson's disease has doubled up in the past 25 years. It has caused 329000 deaths, an increase of over 100% since 2000, the WHO says.
Understanding the early cause of this condition will help medical treatment reach the individual faster and most importantly at such a stage where there is a higher chance of getting it treated and leading a normal life.
What causes Parkinson's disease?
While much is not known about the real cause of Parkinson's disease, "but is thought to arise from a complex interaction between genetic factors and exposure to environmental factors such as pesticides, solvents and air pollution throughout life," the WHO says.