Parkinson’s Disease in Scottsdale, AZ
The Scottsdale Stem Cell Treatment Center offers treatment for Parkinson’s disease to the residents of Scottsdale, Phoenix, and the surrounding Arizona communities.
What Is Parkinson’s Disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a nervous system disorder that progressively affects movement. Although tremors are the best-known symptom of Parkinson’s, a person may also experience slower movement and muscle stiffness.
When Parkinson’s disease starts, your arms may not swing freely when you walk, or your face may display little or no expression. Your speech tends to become slurred or soft. The symptoms of Parkinson’s gradually worsen over time.
Parkinson’s Disease Causes
Parkinson’s disease causes brain nerve cells to progressively weaken or die. Many Parkinson’s signs and symptoms are the result of the loss of neurons that produce a brain chemical called dopamine. The decrease in dopamine levels leads to abnormal brain activity and Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s sufferers have dopamine levels that are abnormally low. The cells that normally generate dopamine have died, and the cause of cell death is currently unknown.
Parkinson’s patients have symptoms that become progressively worse as dopamine levels steadily decline. Dopamine is responsible for sending messages to the brain that govern movement and coordination.
Although the precise cause of Parkinson’s disease is not known, a number of factors seem to play a role, including the following:
- Genes. Scientists have found certain genetic mutations that can lead to Parkinson’s, but these cases are uncommon unless there is a family history of the disease.
- Environment. Toxin exposure or environmental factors may increase the odds of developing Parkinson’s disease, but the odds are low.
More research must be conducted to determine the causes of Parkinson’s disease.
Those with Parkinson’s disease experience brain changes, including the following:
- The presence of Lewy bodies—clumps of material inside brain cells that are microscopic in size. These markers of Parkinson’s are believed to be a vital clue to the cause of the disease.
- A substance called A-synuclein is located inside Lewy bodies. Although a variety of substances are located inside Lewy bodies, scientists suspect the most critical of these is the naturally occurring protein called alpha-synuclein. This widespread substance is found in every Lewy body in a concentrated form that cells cannot metabolize. The presence of A-synuclein is a major focus of current Parkinson’s research.
Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease vary among individuals. Early symptoms may be very mild and unnoticed. The symptoms quite often occur on one side of the body and remain worse on that one side but spread to affect both sides of the body.
The signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease may include the following:
- Tremor: A tremor or shaking normally starts in a limb, hands, or fingers. You might notice a pill-rolling tremor that is the back-and-forth rubbing of the forefinger and thumb. One Parkinson’s trait is a hand tremor when that hand is at rest.
- Slower Movements: Parkinson’s disease may gradually lower your ability to coordinate and move, increasing the difficulty and time required to complete daily tasks. You may find that your steps grow shorter when walking, or it is harder to get out of your chair. You may also begin dragging your feet when walking.
- Muscle Rigidity: Muscle stiffness can occur in any area of the body and can restrict range of motion and lead to pain.
- Impaired Balance and Posture: Your posture may grow stooped, or you may have difficulty with your balance due to Parkinson’s.
- Difficulty with Automatic Movements: You may find that your ability to perform automatic movements is decreased, such as smiling, blinking, or swinging your arms when walking. When talking, you may lose the ability to gesture.
- Changes in Speech: Parkinson’s symptoms may cause difficulties with speech. You might speak more softly or quickly. You may hesitate or slur. You may also find that your speech becomes more monotone, lacking normal inflections. Speech problems may be improved with the help of a speech-language pathologist.
- Changes in Writing: Writing may become smaller and require more effort.
Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease Using Stem Cell Therapy
SSCTC has created a protocol for SVF that seeks to employ the potential regenerative traits of SVF, which is rich in growth factors and mesenchymal stem cells. Specialized techniques optimize SVF transport through the blood-brain barrier to help improve uptake by the central nervous system. This is accomplished as an outpatient procedure when SVF is harvested and procured. The complete surgical procedure lasts about three hours. We use state-of-the-art techniques to ensure that SVF is delivered to the uptake point of the central nervous system.
If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, please contact us at Scottsdale Stem Cell to find out whether STV or another form of stem cell treatment is right for you and your unique condition.