#parkinsons-disease-symptoms

#parkinsons-disease-symptoms

Lewy body dementia (LBD) is the second-most-common neurodegenerative cause of dementia, after Alzheimer's Disease. But it's the most-common cause that doesn't receive sufficient attention.

When Lorraine Kelly Donnelly felt a cramp in her left hand at the start of 2025, she didn't think anything of it. But when a week later the pain was still there, she made an appointment to see her GP.

It affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control and getting worse over time. ALS causes nerve cells in the upper and lower parts of the body to stop working and die. Nerves no longer trigger specific muscles, eventually leading to paralysis. People with ALS may develop problems with mobility, speaking, swallowing and breathing.

It's easy to feel hopeless when someone has Alzheimer's, and to think that small interventions won't make a difference. That's understandable - and thankfully not true. "This symptom can be effectively treated with behavioral interventions as well as medication, which is FDA-approved for the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer's disease," Palekar said. To get to that point, he recommended discussing any agitation-like symptoms with the patient's medical provider.

Haavik was surprised to hear this because the scientific data do not suggest an unequivocal link between low levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine and ADHD. But the idea that low dopamine is a direct cause of ADHD is a common misconception, one that's amplified on social media and even in popular books about the condition. The reality, Haavik and other researchers say, is that the causes of ADHD are more diverse and nuanced than a simple deficit in one chemical cue in the brain.

Remember when you first noticed your parents' hands trembling slightly as they poured coffee or signed a check? I started paying attention after my mother mentioned it during one of our Sunday calls, brushing it off as "just getting older." But that conversation sent me down a research rabbit hole that revealed something fascinating: those tiny tremors that appear after 60 aren't always what they seem, and knowing the difference between normal aging and something more serious could change everything.