In India, almost 1 million cases are detected for Parkinson's Disease, and there is still a lack of required awareness. People with Parkinson's disease can experience shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination based on its effect on the body. This is a nervous failure in the brain that may lead to permanent suffering.
Initiating the treatment early is the best option available until there is a permanent solution to cure Parkinson's disease.
As a Parkinson's disease definition, you can interpret it as a critical nervous system failure due to dopamine loss. Dopamine acts as a messenger between the human brain and its nervous system to instruct every function we perform. And Dopamine is produced in a particular portion of the brain named substantia nigra.
Nerve cells get damaged or broken down for several reasons, causing less dopamine production. Consequently, it cannot work as efficiently as a messenger between the brain and nerves. Why do the cells get broken or damaged? Let us see:
One case in each a hundred (i.e. 0.01%) of parkinsonism is due to a genetic fault. As per medical observations, a child can inherit PD from a parent. On the other hand, in the human body, a genetic mutation can change the behaviour of the cells. The chance for this option is 0.1%.
Even though the environment covers multiple elements and factors, some harmful elements are Parkinson's disease causes. For instance, toxins, factory chemicals like manganese, lead, and farming chemicals like pesticides and herbicides.
Medical research team at Scripps Research shared that Lewy bodies and PD can cause Dementia. These Lewy bodies are some unusual clumps of a protein called alpha-synuclein that may affect sleep and sense of smell.
According to some recent studies, several drugs, including antipsychotics, can cause PD.
Due to a series of small strokes a portion of the brain can die and that is one of Parkinson's disease causes.
If you’ve had a brief idea of what is Parkinson's disease, you need to identify the symptoms of this disease as well. The main Parkinson's disease symptoms are:
Abnormal shaking begins in the hand or arm and gradually occurs when the person wants to relax his limb.
This type of slowness of movements may increase as slow and shuffling walks.
A person suffering from PD can face difficulty in moving around or making facial expressions due to tension in the muscle. This can further increase painful muscle cramps known as dystonia.
Except for these, some other Parkinson's disease symptoms include problems in maintaining body balance, loss of sense of smell, pain in nerves, dizziness, sweating, and problem in peeing or sustaining an erection or being sexually aroused.
As per the medical observation for many years, the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease is unusual brain cell damage that leads to permanent brain and nervous system malfunction. Although there is no cure for this disease till now, a very recent treatment is showing potential.
Prof. Charalampos Tzoulis, at Haukeland University Hospital and the University of Bergen, led this experiment on PD cure. He explained that augmenting the brain's NAD metabolism would help in rectifying disease-related processes specific to PD. Also, there are other advantages of these approaches. Parkinson's disease may find a new treatment edge with potential experiments like these.
Although it’s not possible to stop a nervous disorder that doesn’t have any permanent cure as of now, there are some ways to slow it down. Activities like aerobic moves, strength and balance training, and various functional activities may help to deal with Parkinson's disease symptoms.
Some drugs and medications have been used to cure Parkinson's disease icd 10 as much as possible. These drugs include MAO-B inhibitors, Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors, Anticholinergic medications, Adenosine A2A receptor antagonists, and Amantadine.
These days several provide coverage for critical illnesses as well. Let us take a look at some of them:
| Name of the Plan | Best Features |
|---|---|
| Care Mediclaim Health Insurance |
Covers 32 critical diseases including Parkinsons Provides psychiatric counselling to the patients OPD expenses are covered |
| HDFC ERGO critical Illness Health Insurance |
Under the Platinum Plan, Parkinson’s Disease is covered Survival period of 30 days Easy claim settlement |
| Activ Secure Critical Illness Plan |
Covers 64 critical illnesses Up to INR 1 crore of benefits You can receive 150% of the sum insured in case you get diagnosed with more than 1 illnesses |
| Chola MS Critical Healthline Insurance |
3 plan options with different sum insured 30 day survival period and a 90 day waiting period You are eligible for a claim if the illness has persisted for at least six months Receive a lump sum on the diagnosis of the illness Other critical illnesses are covered as well |
Having a health insurance policy will always work in your favour. Let us take a look at the key benefits:
Having a health insurance cover for Parkinson’s Disease is beneficial as a lot of expense goes into the treatment when diagnosed with the disease.
You could be the sole breadwinner of the family and if you fall ill with the disease you may not earn money while receiving treatment. If you have active insurance, you will receive monetary support from the insurer.
With a minimal premium you can ensure that you get good quality treatment for a critical illness such as Parkinson’s.
You will receive a large chunk of money in one transaction to undergo treatment, pay off loans, settle bills, etc. The only criteria are that you will receive the benefit only after the waiting period is over.
Though every health insurance policy comes with a waiting period, the waiting period varies from company to company, in a specific illness cover the waiting period is comparatively lesser.
Apart from this, you can also enjoy the tax benefits under the benefits of health insurance for Parkinson’s Disease.
What features are included in your policy depends on the health insurance chosen and the insurance company. Following are the most common inclusion under the health insurance plans of Parkinson’s Disease. However, check your policy details properly for the exact information.
Every policy comes with a set of exclusions under the plan. Make sure to read the policy papers before buying. Following are the most common exclusions under health insurance for Parkinson’s disease:-
Yes, most health insurance companies allow coverage for Parkinson’s. You can get the required assistance to treat the disease properly with all the medical support. Make sure you read the policy documents carefully.
If someone is going through any stage of PD, health insurance would help to avail the right treatment without any delay. You will be able to get the benefits if your plan allows it.
Yes, most health insurance providers consider Parkinson’s a critical illness. As mentioned earlier, PD has had no permanent medical answer till now. Research is going in different measures as a large number of people are suffering from this disease for a long time.
Parkinsonism can develop as brain cells get damaged due to genetic disorders. It may be inherited from parents but that’s a rare case. Otherwise, this disease can initiate at any point in time. Most health insurance providers consider Parkinson’s a pre-existing condition.
Parkinson's is a particular nervous-system problem due to the loss of Dopamine in our brain. In this case, several symptoms like tremors, difficulty in walking etc. This often causes hindrance in everyday activities and may be treated as a disability.
