Q and A: about health and research

 One of the most unsettling facts about Parkinson’s disease is that the brain may begin deteriorating years, sometimes decades, before the first visible tremor appears. Long before a patient struggles to initiate movement or develops muscular rigidity, another symptom may quietly emerge: the loss of smell, known as anosmia. According to Robert Sapolsky , this early sensory change offers a fascinating and disturbing clue into how Parkinson’s disease may begin. The inability to smell is not merely an unrelated symptom; it may represent the earliest stage of a slow neurological invasion already underway inside the brain. Parkinson’s disease is fundamentally a movement disorder centered around a region deep in the brain called the substantia nigra. This structure relies heavily on dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in initiating smooth, coordinated movement. Dopamine itself is not dangerous, but its normal breakdown during cellular metabolism produces small amounts of reactive oxy...

Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is often misdiagnosed in its early stages, despite the availability of diagnostic tools. As one of the most common types of dementia, LBD is caused by an abnormal accumulation of proteins known as Lewy bodies in the brain. This condition shares characteristics with both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease , making it especially challenging to diagnose and manage. Understanding Lewy Body Dementia Lewy Body Dementia affects both cognitive function and movement. It is associated with fluctuating mental status, movement difficulties, sleep disturbances, and behavioral changes . Unlike Alzheimer's disease, which typically presents with gradual memory decline, LBD often starts with visual hallucinations, attention deficits, and movement symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia LBD presents with a variety of symptoms that impact thinking, movement, sleep, and behavior....