There are diseases that are talked about and known a lot, others equally important, of which however little is known. April 11 is World Parkinson’s Day, a neurodegenerative disease for which no cure has yet been found, but the symptoms are being acted upon. It is important to approach this pathology, because contrary to popular belief, it not only affects elderly patients, but also young people and even children, and is increasing compared to the past. This is what emerges from the reference to research studies promoted by Humanitas Research Foundation and from the words of professor Alberto Albanese of Humanitas, expert in degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, whom we interviewed to clarify and to raise awareness on the importance of research.
Professor explains what kind of disease is Parkinson’s?
“It is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases. Today it is clearly understood that it is brought about by a problem of poor protein disposal. To put it simply, it is a bit like when there is a garbage strike. These are “misfolded” or malconformed proteins, therefore impossible to “break up” and then be disposed of. Thus they accumulate, intoxicating the neurons. This is one of the main reasons for neurodegeneration. It is important to remember that this applies to Parkinson’s, but also to all other neodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Dementia or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis “.
Unlike other neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s with classic tremors is an obvious disease, because certain areas are affected in this and not others?
“Because it affects the limbs, compared to other diseases such as Dementia. In general, however, although movement disorders are visible, this disease is not so different from other neurodegenerative diseases. What changes is only the place in the brain where these phenomena occur. accumulation of proteins. In a person with Alzheimer’s they occur for example in the memory system, for this reason there are no visible symptoms. Parkinson’s also has another characteristic, which is treatable. So it is true that it is not possible to hide , however the symptoms improve a lot with the treatment “.
This is a very important point on which it is good to clarify. The disease is not curable, but the symptoms are?
“That’s right, even though there are now many medicines that allow patients to have a fairly normal life. In some cases the treatment is really very effective “.
One is led to think that it strikes in old age, is it so?
“Unfortunately not. It is a disease that can strike at any age. We have many young cases and even infantile forms. We are studying in particular the generic forms which are those that have an earlier onset, even before the age of 40. Obviously the older you get, the more likely you are to develop it, but this happens with any other disease ”.
Are there any forms of prevention for Parkinson’s as in other types of diseases?
“We are focusing a lot on genetic forms because in this way we are able to do research and find therapies that can stop, perhaps not all types of Parkinson’s, but in particular these. It is important because in people who have developed this form, we can do prevention. Not only that, we are able to understand the molecular mechanism by which this altered gene causes the accumulation of misfolded proteins, and consequently it is easier for research to block these mechanisms. Understanding if they are carriers of a gene allows us, as we are already doing, to treat them with dedicated experimental therapies. To return to the question, unlike other pathologies, cancers come to mind, in the case of Parkinson’s we still don’t have therapies that can guarantee us certainty. This is what we are trying to do ”.
Are there any symptoms that may alarm us?
“It is difficult to generalize, because there are very different cases. In my long experience I can say that I have seen all the colors. There are people who go to see their doctor at the first tremor, scared of having a form of Parkinson’s, and maybe they don’t. Because it is above all the tremor that creates the alarm bell. But this is a false truth. Almost half, 40%, of the forms do not have it. But maybe you have bone pain and go to the orthopedist only to discover that it is the beginning of a form of Parkinson’s, because the contracture of the muscles causes chronic pain. In general, it is the difficulty of movement that can alarm us, but as I said it is not always said “.
He explained that there is currently no cure for the disease, but for the symptoms. What steps forward have been made in this regard?
“Therapies have evolved a lot. Now we have many symptomatic medications, both medical and surgical therapies, brain pacemakers. A wide range of possibilities. The goal, as they said, is to allow patients to live as normal as possible. It is not always possible, but in most cases it allows you to do everything that you normally do, based on age and type of life. What we are not yet able to do, however, is to stop the disease, but above all to fight its causes, because there are many. There are so many types of Parkinson’s with different causes, which make it difficult to identify a single therapy that works for all. This is the difficulty of the challenge “.
Looking at the data, Parkinson’s cases are on the rise, why?
“The causes are mainly two. The first is the lengthening of life, the other is environmental factors. For example pollution, chemicals, microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria. Factors that are difficult to control, as we have seen with Covid. “.
It is news these days that in Switzerland, thanks to some electrodes, a woman with a degenerative disease has started walking again. Can these devices also be used for Parkinson’s?
“The good news is that for Parkinson’s these devices have already been around for twenty years and are also being used intelligently. They read electrical activity deeply and modify their stimulation patterns. This is because the motor system is measurable from an instrumental point of view. For Parkinson’s, thanks to research, there is an enormous and very fascinating technology that, as I have said several times, manages in most cases to make patients’ lives normal “.