Is Parkinson's disease deadly?

Question

I know what Parkinson's is but is anyone aware of any fatalities from it?

Answer 1

Ive lost 2 grandparent to this disease my grandmother was the hardest to see because her organs slow shut down and it was so sad

Answer 2

This is a bit of a debate. At the World Parkinson's Congress, Michael J. Fox said that Parkinson's does not kill people. Technically, that may be correct. Parkinson's contributes to other ailments, and those ailments kill people. Usually, this is many years (ten to twenty) after diagnosis.

For example parkinson's can slow a person's blood pressure to levels that can threaten life (hypotension). Balance is a significant problem late in Parkinson's disease, and too many people fall and break a hip. Lamentably, many people that go into the hospital for broken hips do not recover.

Other people who have answered have discussed how their loved ones could no longer swallow or digest. Breathing can also be taxed by Parkinson's.

So, Parkinson's may not technically be the killer, but it can contribute to a person's passing.

Answer 3

The Parkinson's Reversing Breakthrough?

Answer 4

Parkinsonism is a dreadful disease. It causes tremors, a "mask-like" appearance of the face, shuffling feet. Michael J. Fox has it and Pope John Paul II had it.

It starts slowly, perhaps with a slight tremor of one hand. Medication can help make the person more mobile but there is no cure. Parkinsonism is one disease that would benefit from stem cell research.

My dad withered away from Parkinson's Disease and died of pneumonia.

Answer 5

Death in Parkinson's patients is invariably due to pneumonia as a result of aspiration of material into the lungs. Just as the large muscles become rigid, so do the muscles in the throat. The patient will also lose sensation in the airway, causing "silent" aspiration, which means they no longer have an effective cough reflex to protect their lungs.
The same is true for Lou Gherig's Disease (ALS), Huntington's Disease, and sometimes with MS.

Answer 6

First of all, Parkinson's Disease (PD) is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed illnesses. Other diseases, such as normal pressure hydrocephalus and essential tremor, are sometimes mistaken for it. So, before asking whether it can be fatal, be sure that you have been properly diagnosed.

As to fatality, my understanding is that PD itself is not directly fatal, but that in a certain percentage of cases it can herald the development of more serious diseases, such as Alzheimer's Disease, which can ultimately be fatal. Of course, it does interfere with movement and so if a PD patient falls they might be injured or killed. But you could also get dizzy from an inner ear disorder and the same thing might happen, so I would not blame PD directly in such a situation.

Classic PD is caused by the death of dopamine-producing neurons in the Substantia Nigra (SN) portion of the brain. Someone who has PD should therefore be trying to minimize further loss of those neurons. One common approach to this is taking anti-oxidants, since oxidants are a likely cause of SN neuron death. Some people believe that the following supplements may be helpful: CoQ10, Vitamin C (especially ascorbyl palmitate), Lipoic Acid, Selenium, Super-Oxide Dismutase (SOD), Omerga-3 Essential Fatty Acids, Grape Seed Extract, Zinc.

Of course, if you are being actively exposed to pesticides or other poisons, that could be continuing to kill your SN cells, and so you should take steps to minimize your exposure (e.g., eat organic foods when possible, don't eat non-organic meat, etc.).

Once you have investigated and taken steps to protect yoursefl from further SN loss, you can then investigate ways to alleviate your symptoms. There are some drugs that make your dopamine last longer so that it builds up to higher levels (e.g., rasagaline, selegilene and others), some that try to replace your dopamine (these are called agonists, like ropinerole) and then those that directly replace L-DOPA (Sinemet and others). These all have side-effects and they tend to help you less and less as your residual SN neurons die off, so preserving those remaining cells is once again the most essential thing that you can do. One thing that you should look into is that some of these treatments are thought likely to be helpful in preserving your own remaining neurons (e.g., rasagaline) while it is believed that others may bring on a more rapid destruction of your own remaining neurons (e.g., L-DOPA treatment may do this by spiking and then lowering dopamine levels, which may be toxic to your own SN neurons). Also, L-DOPA treatment in particular becomes less effective as time goes on and so it is generally saved as a last resort after all other therapies have been tried.

The main point of overlap with Alzheimer's is the formation of plaques in the brain. This does not always, or even usually, happen in PD patients, but it happens a certain percentage of the time. There are certain indicators that can show how stable your plaques are that may give some idea of whether a PD patient is likely to develop Alzheimer's. One of these is the LP-PLA2 (Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) blood test. That is what a doctor told me recently, anyway.

I have no medical expertise whatever and so you should check everything here with a doctor. I have, however, been helping a friend who has PD to research this disease and so have come across the above in the course of looking for this information. There is much, much more to learn and many hopeful new treatments are being developed, so don't worry too much about dying as PD usually develops over a number of years, but DO act now to preserve as many of your remaining SN neurons as you can.

Answer 7

Yes, it is fatal.

My uncle, for instance, died after he was no longer able to swallow and then refused to live on a feeding tube / IV. He could've been kept alive, but by that time he was unable to walk, talk (answered you by blinking), control bowels, etc.

In other cases, dementia occurs, and without outside care death would be certain.

Answer 8

well there are indirect deaths, still caused by it.... it causes a lack of movement, so if someone couldnt move well enough, they can be killed by something else.

otherwise its painful and annoying

Answer 9

YES , IT IT CAN LEAD TO DEATH. IT IS NOT A CURE DISEASE...