• Question: what is schistosomiasis and Parkinsin's disease?

    Asked by lozzc to Darren, Deuan, Duncan, Lori-An, Michelle on 15 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by aiyassu.
    • Photo: Darren Nesbeth

      Darren Nesbeth answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Off the top of my head, with no use of Google:

      Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease, I think the organism is Leishmania – but I might be wrong. It’s caused by a parasite getting inside your cells without being detected by your immune system.

      Parkinson’s is neurological disorder. Some people get it, some don’t – depending on their genes and lifestyle. Specific groups of brain cells malfunction or die when they shouldn’t – then Parkinson’s disease starts. I think uncontrollable shaking is one of the symptoms.

    • Photo: Michelle Hudson-Shore

      Michelle Hudson-Shore answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Schistosomiasis is also called bilharzia or snail fever. It is caused by a parasite. The parasite is a fluke which is a type of flat worm which spends part of its life living inside fresh water snails. The young parasites infect people when they go into infested water. The disease affects approximately 200 million people at any one time, mainly in tropical countries such as Africa and South America. It causes fever, skin rash, abdominal pain, bronchitis, enlargement of the liver and spleen, and diarrhea at first. If it is not treated then it can cause changes to the intestinal and urinary systems. Eventually it will cause complications involving major bodily systems and can result in death. At the moment it is treated with a drug but this does not stop people from being reinfected, so scientists are trying to a find a vaccine that will stop the infection from ever happening.
      Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder where cells in the brain (neurons) that produce dopamine (a substance that allows signals to be passed from one neuron to another) are damaged or lost because of an abnormal build up of a protein called alpha-synuclein which causes the cells to stop working. Because these cells are lost certain areas of the brain don’t work properly. This causes movement problems, behaviour and mood problems and difficulty with speaking. It is mainly an illness that occurs in old age but some younger people do suffer from it. The symptoms get worse as time passes and there is no cure for it at the moment. There are several treatments that can ease the symptoms such as a drug called L-DOPA which acts to the replace the lost dopamine and Deep Brain Stimulation where the patient has an electrode implanted in their brain which can control the movement problems. However, the treatments that are available all have their own side effects and do not stop the Parkinson’s disease completely.

    • Photo: Lori-An Etherington

      Lori-An Etherington answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Schistosomiasis and Parkinsons disease are two very different things:

      Schistosomiasis is a disease caused by a parasitic flatworm and is most commonly found in Asia, Africa and South America. Children are more likely to get the disease from playing and swimming in infected water. Some of the symptoms are high temperature, stomach pain, diarrhoea, tiredness and cough.

      Parkinsons disease is a progressive disorder of the brain, usually with no known cause. Most people who get Parkinsons disease are over 50 years old. People with Parkinsons have difficulty moving and walking because they they don’t have enough of a brain chemical called dopamine because a specific group of their brain cells (neurons) have died.

      Hope this helps to answer your question

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