Health and You

Joints form the junctions between the bones in the body. They are an important part of the skeletal system and aids in weight support, binding the bone parts, supporting various movements of body, assist bone growth etc. They are otherwise called as articulations. The overuse, degeneration, faulty attack by the immune system and infection causes the disorders in joints. This article deals with some of the common joint disorders.

Some of the joint diseases are as follows.

Arthritis

This disease results in the joints becoming inflamed and painful. It has been found that arthritis occurs in about 50 million people in U.S. Arthritis exists in about 100 different types. Some of the types of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, etc. The common symptoms include pain in joints, swelling of joints, fever, low blood pressure etc.

Types of arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis

This type of arthritis is an autoimmune disease usually resulting in adults. It is commonly a systemic illness with anemia, fatigue, changes in the eyes, lungs, heart etc. This painful condition results when the normal healthy tissues of the body is affected by the immune system. The disease causes the synovial membrane to become thick and inflamed. Damages occur in the articular cartilage. Arthritis attacks many types of joints. Replacement of joints that are severely damaged by surgical procedures can treat this disease.

Lyme arthritis

This disease is due to the bacterial infection transmitted through tick bite which causes intermittent arthritis in many joints. The symptoms include pain, fatigue rashes, etc. The use of antibiotics to treat the disease is quite effective.

Osteoarthritis

This is a degenerative disease and most usual form of arthritis. The age is a factor in its occurrence as the chance of getting the disorder increases with age. In this kind of arthritis the softening and gradual disintegration of articular cartilage happens. This causes the articular surfaces to become rough. Pain develops in joints and difficulty arises in moving the body parts. The commonly affected joints are which are present in hips, fingers, vertebral columns etc. The drugs used in treating osteoarthritis are anti inflammatory medications.

Bursitis

This joint disease nothing but the inflammation of bursa. This disorder is due to stress applied to bursa or the overuse of joints. Bursa is present between the Achilles tendon and the heel bone. Sudden physical activities in high magnitude cause the inflammation. Tennis elbow is a type of bursitis. This form attacks the bursa which is present in between the skin and olec-ranon process.  Usually doctors suggest the patient to take rest as a part of their treatment procedure.

These are only some of many types of joint disorders. It is necessary to treat these disorders with appropriate care before they could become dangerous.

Introduction
The Parkinson disease is found in millions of people all around the world. This disease is usually characterized by the degeneration of neurons present in the basal nuclei. These nuclei are responsible for the synthesis of neurotransmitter dopamine. As a result the dopamine levels decrease in the striatum. The effects thus arise include slow movements, inability to trigger the voluntary muscular actions, tremors, loss of balance and also rigidity.

What could be the possible causes?
The exact reason for the occurrence of Parkinson disease is unknown. Many believe that the disease could be due to the increased and frequent exposure to specific chemicals present in some of the pesticides and also in certain designer drugs. The disease can also arise due to frequent and severe injuries in a person. Due to this reason it has been said that professional boxers have an increased chance of acquiring the disease as they get frequent blows in the head. Injuries and chemical exposure may higher the formation of oxygen free radical rate that often leads to damaging of the brain tissue.

Genetics can help in a long way to find the cause of this disease. Genetic researchers have found a mutant gene which accounts for the disorder in many well analyzed large families. A protein known as alpha-synuclein is encoded by the gene. This protein is present in basal nuclei. During the abnormal condition improper folding of the protein happens. This may lead to the formation of deposits in the brain. There are some rare cases where the disease is inherited. In such cases the human genome project will identify the causative genes for the occurrence of the disease. This is also used to identify the genes that will enhance the risk of getting the disease.

What are the treatment techniques for the Parkinson disease?
Over the years the administration of levo-dopa is the standard procedure for treating the disease. This is nothing but a precursor to dopamine which is capable of passing through the blood brain barrier. In the brain levodopa once converted to dopamine cannot pass the barrier. But as a result of regular usage of levodopa, the brain increasingly turns out to be dependent on the external administration and thus the brain’s own generation of dopamine becomes lowered. Finally levo-dopa lessens the symptoms for some time. Another drug known as prampipexole is found to even out the dopamine supply by mimicking the dopamine action. This drug when given along with levo-dopa, the symptoms get improved and also found to lower the depression related with the Parkinson disease.

The experimental approach to treat the disease is the transplantation of fetal brain tissue into the brain of the Parkinson diseased person. This tissue produces the required dopamine. This treatment procedure went through lot of controversies.