The article, drug treatment strategies for depression in Parkinson’s disease describes one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders in the world. Parkinson’s disorder (PD) affects over 10 million people with its budget estimated to cost over $25 million every year (Ryan et al., 2019). Depression is a risk factor in PD patients and its prevalence varies within patients and with time. The hazard ratio for acquiring depression is 4.6 in a period of five to eight years for patients with PD compared to healthy ones used as control samples according to Ryan et al. (2019). There are several postulates about stress leading to depression. Most commonly, changes in the concentration of neurotransmitters that regulate emotions in persons are the major factor that contributes to depression (Dallé & Mabandla, 2018). Depression invokes PD which in turn causes a progressive shift in the voluntary motor control thereby inducing alterations in moods (Dallé & Mabandla, 2018). The heightened use of emotional coping techniques against problem-oriented coping mechanisms shows signs of depression among PD patients (Ryan et al., 2019). Additionally, the ability to identify a disease one suffers from is associated with depression (Ryan et al., 2019). Elsewhere, social support, care, and concern are some approaches to reducing depression among PD patients for mental stability and cure. Illustratively, higher baseline depression scores are linked with Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, the knowledge of pathways and neurotransmitter systems involved in the process indicates the relationship between depression and PD. It shows that depression as a common nonmotor symptom of PD can appear at any time during the disease even before PD diagnosis (Ryan et al., 2019). Treatment for depression in patients with PD involves the use of standard antidepressant medications that have been proven to be effective alongside non-pharmacological therapies.
Depression is caused by several instances ranging from stress, family life, alcoholism to illness among other cases. Parkinson’s disease on the other hand is an infection of the nervous system characterized by stiff muscles, tremors, and imprecise movement. It affects middle-aged and elderly people of the population and is associated with a deficiency of the neurotransmitters such as dopamine (Ryan et al., 2019). Depression increases the chances of PD infection and worsens it amongst those who are already affected. Patients suffering from PD are more likely to experience deteriorating motor function when depression becomes an additional factor (Ryan et al., 2019). Notably, depression lowers the quality of life in patients with PD making them more vulnerable to muscular and brain infections. Also, depression stifles the functionality of the body by inhibiting the works of essential organs such as brains and muscles through processes such as lowering neurotransmission making the patients with PD weaker (Dallé & Mabandla, 2018). PD accompanied by depression calls for more attention from caregivers than simple PD cases that are free from depression making health services costly which is an important point noted from the article. In addition, treatment of DP depends on the ability to detect the condition which in most cases bypass medics due to overlapping symptoms. Signs of infections such as fatigue and cognitive impairments are common in PD depressed patients and they should be screened for underlying metabolic challenges which may lead to depressive symptoms. Testosterone deficiency screening for depressed males should be done because it may contribute to one of the required signs and lead to treatment. The knowledge about symptoms screening and treatment of depressed PD patients is a key to bailing persons who may be in the mix in the future and the article provides positive information for the health care providers. The article on Parkinson’s diseases among depressed patients offers an insightful detail on cultural perspective as it is a tool that reshapes how people should lead a life free of depression.
Reference
Dallé, E., & Mabandla, M. V. (2018). Early life stress, depression, and Parkinson’s disease: a new approach. Molecular brain, 11(1), 1-13.
Ryan, M., Eatmon, C. V., & Slevin, J. T. (2019). Drug treatment strategies for depression in Parkinson’s disease. Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 20(11), 1351-1363.
