In an interview with the Daily Mail, Donna Marshall, a British woman, revealed the first manifestations of Parkinson’s disease, which she developed years before her diagnosis.
- Parkinson’s disease progresses slowly and is characterized by slowness of movement, rigidity and tremor at rest.
- In some cases, this neurodegenerative pathology leads to a loss of smell.
- Donna Marshall, a British woman, gave her testimony on the slow evolution of her Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a slowly evolving neurodegenerative disease. Symptoms usually appear when 50-70% of dopamine neurons are destroyed and the brain can no longer compensate. To make the diagnosis, the presence of two of the three major manifestations of the disease is required:
- slowness in movements;
- rigidity ;
- tremor at rest.
Loss of smell, tremors… the early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
However, Parkinson’s disease can cause more atypical symptoms, in particular a loss of sense of smell. Diagnosed at the age of 44, Donna Marshall, a British woman, suffers from this neurodegenerative pathology and began to lose her sense of smell around the age of 26. “I didn’t give it much thought and it resulted in a loss of taste for food”she told the DailyMail.
A few years later, the patient noted the appearance of tremors, distinctive signs of Parkinson’s disease. “I was walking on the beach at the Isle of White. I looked at my hand and it was shaking, I wondered why. Now I know it’s Parkinson’s disease”said Donna Marshall.
“The worst aspect of Parkinson’s disease is dystonia”
Currently, there are treatments to improve the quality of life of patients, but they do not stop the progression of the disease. According to various studies, some treatments would however have significant side effects, and could trigger “impulse control disorders”.
During her interview, Donna Marshall claimed to have become a compulsive buyer. According to her, she would have spent thousands of euros for a Halloween party where she would have hired professional dancers and transformed her garden into a huge cemetery.
Now 54, Donna Marshall suffers from dystonia, in other words repetitive muscle contractions, which can be very painful and last for several hours. “The worst part of Parkinson’s disease is dystonia, because I have cramps in my foot, then in my back”she said.
