{"id":15784,"date":"2015-04-08T03:59:05","date_gmt":"2015-04-08T03:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/?p=15784"},"modified":"2015-04-08T03:59:05","modified_gmt":"2015-04-08T03:59:05","slug":"gulf-today-parkinsons-may-result-from-head-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/gulf-today-parkinsons-may-result-from-head-trauma\/","title":{"rendered":"Gulf Today – Parkinson\u2019s may result from head trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Neurologist<\/a>By Gulf Today, Mariecar Jara-Puyod, April 08, 2015: \u201cThe repetitive blows on the head can lead to Parkinson\u2019s,\u201d said Dr Heike Jacobs. She cited as an example Muhammad \u201cSportsman of the Century\u201d Ali. However, Jacobs pointed out that not all boxers can suffer from neuro-degenerative illnesses, which can happen when neurons or nerve cells are severely traumatised. The consultant neurologist at the German Neuroscience Centre (GNC) in Dubai Healthcare City also cautioned cyclists from wearing a helmet as a cushion or any protective gear against Parkinson\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Jacobs, who was interviewed ahead of World Parkinson\u2019s Day on April 11, defined neurons or nerve cells as \u201cspecialised cells\u201d in the body attached to each other and with one another through arm-like and web-like appendages. These are chemicals called dopamines (neurotransmitters) which function as communication channels. \u201cIt is through dopamines that neurons communicate with each other and with one another. If there is not enough dopamine, the neurons misfire and miscommunication occurs. Neurons start to die,\u201d she said. Jacobs explained further that the slow death of neurons results in the slowdown of physical movements and mental processes such as cognition and concentration.<\/p>\n

There are 10 million people worldwide affected with Parkinson\u2019s, 200,000 under age 50 and 100,000 diagnosed before the age of 40.<\/h2>\n

Her advice is to maintain an active lifestyle. Three years in the UAE with over 20 years of experience in her native country of Germany, including a decade in the UK, Jacobs said that men are more prone to Parkinson\u2019s than women. Among her patients in the UAE is a 40-year-old man who suffered from a head injury from a car crash 20 years ago. There are two young men in their 20s who have become reclusive, because aside from experiencing uncontrollable movements such as shaky hands at tea time, they also exhibit \u201creduced facial expressions\u201d. \u201cThey have become expressionless in anything and have become socially isolated,\u201d she said, adding that one of the men has a sibling diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s who manifested signs and symptoms. According to Jacobs, the root cause of Parkinson\u2019s, which is closely linked to the neuro-degenerative disease, Alzheimer\u2019s, is still unknown. However, research and studies revealed that contributing factors are genetics (inter-family marriages), environmental (toxins), age, traumatic head injuries, infections (viral infections in the brain), and rare metabolic diseases. These lead to various types of Parkinson\u2019s, the common ground of which is that neurons or nerve cells degenerate or regress, affecting motor and non-motor skills or mental faculties of the person.<\/p>\n

Even youths are not spared by Juvenile Parkinson\u2019s. For the World Parkinson\u2019s Day, GNC, Dubai Health Authority, Rashid Hospital and the Parkinson\u2019s Support Dubai are conducting an education and awareness campaign at the Sofitel Downtown Dubai from 12 noon to 5pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gulf Today, Mariecar Jara-Puyod, April 08, 2015: \u201cThe repetitive blows on the head can lead to Parkinson\u2019s,\u201d said Dr Heike Jacobs. She cited as an example Muhammad \u201cSportsman of the Century\u201d Ali. However, Jacobs pointed out that not all boxers can suffer from neuro-degenerative illnesses, which can happen when neurons or nerve cells are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gncdubai.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}