The list of mental illnesses that affect the elderly is long, but many of them are closely related. Three of the biggest are Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, and depression. In fact, sometimes the first two diseases can cause or exacerbate depression since it is often linked to your overall outlook. Having an incurable disease that is only going to get worse as you age is a good way to have a negative attitude. A senior health specialist, preferably an experienced doctor, will be a good player to have on your team when looking for the best care for an elderly loved one.
There might be more to it than this, though. New studies show that Parkinson’s disease patients have issues with regulating dopamine levels. Dopamine is one of the brain’s main neurotransmitters. These are the chemicals that help your brain cells (neurons) send messages to one another. When there is an imbalance of these chemicals, particularly shortages of one or more, depression becomes a common result.
Because Parkinson’s disease leads to an imbalance of dopamine, depression often can occur. In this light, it sort of justifies the feelings of despair that many people get. The emotional and psychological impact is a given, of course, but now there is also a physiological reason behind the depression. As the disease progresses, studies have shown that the neurons that help with dopamine levels die off, and besides possibly affecting mood, this might have a big impact with the overarching disease, too. It is still uncertain, but some researchers believe that treating this may help to slow the spread and severity of Parkinson’s. The thought here is that the failing neurons that regulate dopamine have a more widespread impact and cause damage to other brain cells, too.
Depression can be completely paralyzing sometimes, but it is usually very treatable because it ranks low on many people’s lists of concerns when it comes to Parkinson’s disease, it often goes untreated. It really doesn’t need to go untreated, though, and a lot of the psychological factors can be improved upon when this happens. Different antidepressants usually affect different neurotransmitters, and now that there is a clear link between dopamine and Parkinson’s, the medications that specifically target dopamine levels can be used first in order to alleviate a lot of the guess and check that psychiatrists use when trying to treat depression through pharmaceutical means.
Having a doctor on your side that specializes in the needs of senior citizens is important as you age. They will be more up to date on the topics that pertain to senior health. If senior care is needed, they will let you know, and they might even be able to tell you specifically which type of care is needed: in-home care, assisted living, or something more intensive. If a mental illness becomes apparent, they will be able to spot symptoms faster and find the best treatment options more efficiently. Parkinson’s is more common as we age, but this is only one thing to be cognizant of. Senior health is a huge field and a senior medical professional is a good place to start.
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