Doc Enzo, good day to you!
My 62 yo wife is a diabetic (150-170) patient since three years ago. She's also treated to neutralize her high blood and high cholesterol levels and is maintaining all the prescribed medicines by St. Luke's doctors. One year ago, she was hospitalized due to high fever and the doctors found out another ailment called 'Parkinsons'. Her (locomotion) movement was badly affected, more particularly her difficulty of walking without some support. Neurologist prescription helps much but there are momentary periods she's unable to walk without canes.
The doctor made us to understand that 'til now Parkinson is an incurable disease. Is this caused by her being a diabetic patient?
Thanks
Hello A Layman,
Thank you for sharing your wife's clinical situation with me. Diabetes and Parkinson's Disease are totally different disease states. Diabetes Mellitus is due to the oversaturation of the insulin-receptors in the Pancreas, leading to the pancreas' inability to secrete enough insulin. Insulin's natural ability is to reduce glucose in the blood (it has a hypoglycemic effect); now due to the fact that in Diabetes Mellitus Type II, the pancreas is unable to secrete enough insulin, the glucose levels in the blood remain high, this leads to Hyperglycemia. Because of the increased sugar content in the blood, this leads the blood to become very sticky and can become atherosclerotic. This is why diabetes has to be controlled via hypoglycemic medication (Glucophage, Metformin) or sometimes synthetic insulin (Ultralente etc). Because Diabetes leads to hyperglycemia and since that affects the blood's coagulability, there is also a link between diabetes and high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. All three , if uncontrolled, can lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular effects. It is important to make sure your wife is on hypoglycemic medication , and if she has hypertension, she should also control her hypertension. If she has high cholesterol, she should also control her cholesterol levels via statin and fibrates. All of which should be explained to your wife by the physicians at St. Lukes (by the way, is a very great medical system in the Philippines).
As for Parkinson's Disease, this problem is completely hormonal-related. There is an area of the brain called the Substantia Nigra, which is responsible for the production of Dopamine. Dopamine is a hormone that has multipotential effects; it is used for maintaining mood and also for maintaining catecholamine expression and motion. In Parkinson's Disease, the Substantia Nigra is destroyed or partially destroyed. Because it is destroyed, there is a pathological decrease in Dopamine expression. This decrease production of dopamine is responsible for the cogwheel motility found in Parkinson's Disease and related motion disturbances.
The mode of treatment for Parkinson's is to control the catecholamine expression, and to take synthetic dopamine. This disease can be maintained, however, it has a progressive course.
Both diseases, Diabetes Mellitus Type II and Parkinson's Disease are different diseases with different etiologies.
I hope that answered your question, A Layman. Please feel free to ask more should you need my assistance.
God Bless you and your wife. Persevere in the Lord, always.
Best,
Bran Lorenzo
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Topic: Diabetes, why we have to control it (Read 1036 times)