About Parkinson's, a disease that eats away at Muhammad Ali's life

Medical Video: muhammad ali speacking about parkinson disease

Some time ago, the world was shocked by the news of the death of Muhammad Ali, a boxing legend who at the end of his career had to "compete" against an illness. However, what exactly is Parkinson's disease, what is the effect on the body, and why can someone suffer from it?

Muhammad Ali suffered from Parkinson's not because of boxing

In 1984, three years after he retired from the boxing ring, Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Since then, his motor skills have declined. He is unable to speak like anyone in general.

"Since then, Parkinson has made him unable to talk to other people, but through his eyes he still talks. Through the heart, he still talks to me, to the family, "said his wife, Lonnie Ali, quoted from CNN.

His wife insisted that based on the information he got from the doctor, the illness that Muhammad Ali had suffered was not because he received so many blows in his fist career, but because of genetic factors.

Ten weeks before his fight against Larry Holmes, a team of doctors from Mayo Clinic submit health report to Nevada State Athletic Commission and illustrates that there is a small hole in the outer layer of the brain that causes Muhammad Ali to feel tingling in the hands and slurred while talking.

The struggle against disease does not kill the social soul that Muhammad Ali has. In 1997, he and his wife actually founded Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center which aims to provide care for people with diseases similar to Ali's Parkinson's.

What is Parkinson's?

According to Mayo Clinic, Parkinson's is a progressive disorder of the nervous system, and affects the ability of the person to move. The disease starts with a small tremor in the hand, or usually the muscles feel stiff, and get worse over time.

There is no way in the form of tests to identify Parkinson's, so the diagnosis is sometimes unexpected. In everyday life, people with Parkinson's will find it difficult to move and talk. The initial symptoms that are seen from the outside are slowing movement, slurred speech, and often losing balance.

Parkinson's attacks 4 million of the world's population every year. Research shows that men are more at risk of contracting Parkinson's than women. Generally, Parkinson's attacks us who are over 50 years old.

What causes Parkinson's?

According to National Institute of Health, basically, your body uses a chemical called dopamine to control movement. Dopamine is produced by neurons in the brain. Parkinson's is a process in which the number of cells in dopamine continues to decrease and causes difficulty in moving.

Scientists do not know exactly what is the main cause of this. However, expectations so far are a combination of genetic ancestry, gene mutations, and environmental influences. Parkinson Disease Foundation say that 15% to 25% of Parkinson's sufferers have offspring of families who also have Parkinson's. Recent studies suspect Parkinson's connection with chemicals such as TCE and PERC, but this relationship has not been proven legally.

Can Parkinson be cured?

So far, National Institute of Health states that there is no medicine that can cure Parkinson's sufferers. However, doctors can help patients contract when symptoms have begun to feel.

A drug called Levodova is often given to sufferers to help their brain produce more dopamine. This recipe is often combined with Carbidopa which can help bring Levodopa to the brain.

U.S Food and Drug Administration agree on ways of deep brain stimulation to reduce depression, this helps prevent when in the phase of Parkinson's symptoms. Electrodes implanted into the brain can help control movement.

Tai chi exercise is often used by patients who have experienced symptoms of Parkinson's. Transplants in dopamine tissues can help prevent Parkinson's, this has been tested in research Harvard University. However, there are no drugs that can significantly prevent Parkinson's potential.

So, is there a connection between the outbreak of Parkinson's life expectancy? Actually Parkinson's does not directly cause death. However, the decline in brain function certainly leads us to other health problems, and decreases the quality of life of a person as a whole.

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