4.23.15 Degenerate
Degeneration is a scary thing. Its the brain slowly breaking down, neurons dying, the undoing of the connections that make a human being whole. Neurological disorders have varying causes, but most end in degeneration of part or a whole of a system.
Let’s talk about a well known disease, Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s can have several causes, genetic or sporadic. One suffering from Parkinson’s has difficulty initiating movement, rigidity of muscles, and sometimes a resting tremor. It results from degeneration of motor neurons. This can be a result of a misfolded protein building up in the cell and causing death. We have temporary cures, like administering L-Dopa, a precursor of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that can help increase movement. But the effects of this are short lived.
Alzheimer’s is another neurological disorder. In this disease, a build up of plaque in the brain blocks axons and dendrites of neurons causing their degeneration. Soon after, the person suffers memory loss and confusion, and eventually become helpless. To me, this is one of the most terrifying diseases. To lose all memory, all recollection of your experiences, is to take away your life twice. If one cannot remember the events of their existence, then what was the point of living at all? However, there is some promising research happening that may soon find a cure.
We need to research more ways to cure these disorders. Many neurological disorders are in want of a cure. They have devastating effects, but the more we learn about their causes, the more we can predict and control the effects.













