Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a very rare yet complex condition that affects the working of the brain. Progressive shows that its symptoms will keep on worsening with time, supranuclear means the region of the brain that is affected known as nuclei, whereas palsy means weakness of certain muscles. It is a form of Parkinson’s disease which means it consists of some of its symptoms. PSP can be known as a neurodegenerative condition.

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is an autoimmune disorder as the immune system affects the healthy cells as well. In this condition, your movement, eyesight, ability to focus, etc gets impaired. People often confuse Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) with Parkinson’s disease however these are not the same.

Causes of Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is considered a sporadic and not an inherited condition. It was first diagnosed by doctors in 1964. PSP is more common in men who are in their 60’s. It is quite a rare disorder occurring in 6 people out of 100,000. As far as the exact causes of PSP are concerned, they are still unknown.

The experts understand how it happens but they do not understand why it happens. Patients suffering from PSP experience an abnormal growth of protein known as tau. This protein supports the cellular skeleton of nerve cells. The malfunctioning of tau can impair mitochondria and thus lead the brain cells to die. It basically happens when the brain cells in the brain stem become damaged however why and how they get damaged is not clear.

Symptoms of Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)

The symptoms of Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) are very much like Parkinson’s disease although they both are not the same. These usually appear lightly at first. Then with the passage of time, the symptoms of PSP become more noticeable and severe. The most frequent initially occurring symptom of PSP is losing balance when walking and you may feel uncomfortable. The following are the symptoms of Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP):

  • Stiff muscles in neck and trunk
  • Impaired balance
  • The slow movement, which is also known as bradykinesia
  • Tremors in hands
  • The slow movement of eye muscles makes it difficult to focus and see things
  • Continuous fall towards the backside
  • Slow or slurred speech
  • Difficulty in swallowing
  • Reduced cognitive behavior
  • Becoming forgetful
  • Becoming cranky
  • Becoming emotional or having mood swings
  • Losing patience frequently
  • Dementia
  • Depression and fatigue
  • Trouble in making eye contact
  • Inability to control the movement of eyelids for example unwanted eye blinking or being unable to open eyes

Complications of Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is not deadly but its symptoms may worsen with time and become incurable. If it is left untreated and not taken care of, it can cause numerous complications because of the worsening of symptoms. You could easily choke on food while eating or breathe food into the lungs. Your chances to fall and get serious head injuries after losing balance become extremely high. These are some of the complications of Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Types of Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) exists in more than one form that may slightly differ from the traditional PSP described above. Below is a list of all the types or forms of Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) that are known yet:

PSP-parkinsonism

Around 30 percent of people with PSP are expected to experience this form of PSP. Its symptoms include rigidity in the muscles, tremors, etc.

PSP-progressive non-fluent aphasia

People with this type of PSP suffer spontaneous non-fluent speech which means that they lose normal production of speech however comprehension of speech remains the same.

PSP-corticobasal syndrome

This form of PSP shows features of corticobasal degeneration (CBD) which is also a parkinsonism disorder. PSP-corticobasal syndrome has symptoms such as limb rigidity, limb dystonia, limb apraxia, and similar behavioral symptoms.

Pure akinesia with gait freezing

This form of PSP shows early gait problems such as small handwriting, inaudible speech, freezing of gait, etc.

Treating PSP with Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)

As mentioned above, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is an unfatal but incurable disease. There is no such medicine or procedure devised until now that can cure the symptoms of PSP completely. But Naltrexone, if given in a low dose, can help you to manage the symptoms of PSP. LDNhas showed significant improvement in patients dealing with central nervous system disorders such as Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

You can get Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) from the harbor compounding pharmacy in all forms. Moreover, you can also get Naltrexonecustomized according to your prescription. For more information, please visit their website.

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