Can neurodegenerative ailments be detected in any of the 5 senses?
In the world, some of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases are strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Multiple Sclerosis. The purpose why I wanted to see whether senses can indicate these diseases is that they go undetected. Once doctors diagnose patients with the illnesses, the damage has already been done. It’s too late.
Here are some of the details about each disease and how they can be detected through the senses:
Strokes:
A stroke is caused by a blocked or burst artery that prevents blood from flowing to the brain. If this happens, areas of the brain will shut down due to the lack of oxygen, impairing normal function. Stroke patients suffer from paralysis and brain disabilities. Strokes can be found by doing an eye test mainly consisting of three parts. The first part is to make the patient move their head quickly. The next is to make their eyes track their doctor’s finger. The doctors look for a dissimilarity in the eyes and discrepant eye movements. In some stroke patients, there are lesions in the eye, resulting in partial or total blindness.
A picture of a man unable to track both eyes in the same direction, indicative of a stroke.
Multiple Sclerosis:
Multiple Sclerosis is caused by the immune system attacking the myelin sheath (the coating around the axon). This disease induces communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. Multiple Sclerosis can initially be detected as Optic Neuritis, which is the inflammation of the optic nerve. Optic Neuritis usually affects one eye and causes a decrease in visual acuity. For most people with Optic Neuritis, the condition returns to normal, but for others, it doesn’t.
Visual of an eye with Optic Neuritis.
Parkinson’s Disease:
Parkinson’s Disease is a motor disorder that is caused by degeneration of dopamine-producing brain cells. Patients with the disorder mention that they cannot track properly with both eyes, resulting in double vision. They also have trouble blinking, so their eyes remain dry and irritate them. Parkinson’s disease causes a loss of retinal cells that rely on dopamine. Patients cannot see color very well. Along with vision problems, Parkinson’s patients have trouble smelling. In a smell identification test, many patients cannot identify or smell the smells.
Alzheimer’s Disease:
Alzheimer’s Disease is a disorder that results in memory loss which is due to the degeneration of brain neurons. Patients with the disease complain of poor eyesight. Currently, this cause of poor eyesight is disputed. It is uncertain whether the eyesight is caused due to problems in the optic nerves or the inability of people to process and interpret visual information in the brain. Also, Alzheimer’s patients, cannot distinguish smells, comparable to Parkinson’s disease. A risk factor for Alzheimer’s patients is hearing. In older people who have a slight to somewhat major hearing loss are at risk for Alzheimer’s.
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