This term is unusual for the ear of many patients. In our country, doctors rarely use it and display data ailments in a separate group. However, in world medicine in the vocabulary of doctors, the term "degenerative disease" is found constantly. Their group includes those pathologies that are constantly progressing, provoking a deterioration in the functioning of tissues, organs, their structure. With degenerative diseases, cells are constantly changing, their condition is deteriorating, this affects tissues and organs. In this case, the word "degeneration" means a steady and gradual degeneration, the deterioration of something.
Hereditary degenerative diseases
Diseases of this group are completely heterogeneous clinically, but they are characterized by a similar course. At any moment, a healthy adult or child can become ill spontaneously after exposure to some provoking factors, the central nervous system, as well as other systems and organs, can suffer. Clinical symptoms gradually increase, the patient's condition is constantly worsening. Progression is variable. Hereditary degenerative-dystrophic diseases as a result lead to the fact that a person loses many basic functions (speech, movement, vision, hearing, thought processes and others). Very often, such diseases are fatal.
The cause of hereditary degenerative diseases can be called pathological genes. For this reason, the age of the manifestation of the disease is difficult to calculate, it depends on gene expression. The severity of the disease will be more pronounced with the active manifestation of pathological signs of the gene.
Already in the 19th century, neurologists described similar diseases, but could not explain the reason for their appearance. Thanks to molecular genetics, modern neurology has discovered many biochemical defects in the genes that are responsible for the development of symptoms of diseases of this group. According to the established tradition, symptoms get their eponymous names, this is a tribute to the works of scientists who first described these diseases.
Characteristic features of degenerative diseases
Degenerative-dystrophic diseases have similar features. These include:
- The onset of diseases is almost imperceptible, but all of them are steadily progressing, which can last for decades.
- The beginning is difficult to track, the cause cannot be identified.
- Affected tissues and organs gradually refuse to perform their functions, degeneration moves along the present.
- Diseases of this group are resistant to therapy; treatment is always complex, complex and rarely effective. Most often it does not give the desired results. You can slow down degenerative growth, but it is almost impossible to stop it.
- Diseases are more common among older people, the elderly, they are less common among young people.
- Often, diseases are associated with a genetic predisposition. The disease can occur in several people in the same family.
The most famous diseases
The most common and known degenerative diseases:
- atherosclerosis;
- cancer;
- type 2 diabetes;
- Alzheimer's disease;
- osteoarthritis;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- osteoporosis;
- Parkinson's disease;
- multiple sclerosis;
- prostatitis.
Most often, people attribute these ailments to “terrible” ones, but this is not the whole list. There are diseases that some have not even heard of.
Degenerative joint disease
At the heart of the degenerative-dystrophic disease of osteoarthrosis is the degeneration of the cartilage joint, as a result of subsequent pathological changes in the epiphyseal bone tissue.
Osteoarthrosis is the most common joint disease, which affects 10-12% of people, with age the number only grows. Hip or knee joints are more often affected in both women and men. Degenerative diseases - osteoarthritis is divided into primary and secondary.
Primary arthrosis occupies 40% of the total number of diseases, the degenerative process starts as a result of large physical exertion, with a sharp increase in body weight, with age-related changes.
Secondary arthrosis accounts for 60% of the total. Often arise as a result of mechanical injuries, intraarticular fractures, with congenital dysplasia, after infectious joint diseases, with aseptic necrosis.
In general, arthrosis is divided into primary and secondary purely conditionally, since they are based on the same pathogenic factors, which may have a different combination. Most often, it is not possible to determine which factor became the main and which secondary.
After degenerative changes, the surfaces of the joints in contact exert excessive pressure on each other. As a result, osteophytes grow in order to reduce mechanical stress. The pathological process progresses, the joints become more and more deformed, the functions of the musculo-ligamentous apparatus are disturbed. Movements become limited, contracture forms.
Deforming coxarthrosis. Deforming gonarthrosis
Degenerative joint diseases coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis are quite common.
The first place in the frequency of occurrence is coxarthrosis - deformation of the hip joint. Disease leads first to disability, and later to disability. The disease can often occur from 35 to 40 years. Women suffer more often than men. Symptoms appear gradually, depending on the age, weight of the patient, physical activity of a person. The initial stages do not have severe symptoms. Sometimes fatigue is felt when standing and walking or when carrying heavy loads. As degenerative changes, pain increases. They completely disappear only at rest, in a dream. At the slightest load they resume. With the advanced form of pain, persistent pain may intensify at night.
Gonarthrosis takes the second place - 50% among diseases of the knee joints. It is easier than coxarthrosis. For many, the process is suspended at stage 1. Even advanced cases rarely lead to a loss of performance.
There are 4 forms of gonarthrosis:
- lesions of the internal parts of the knee joint;
- primary lesions of the external departments;
- arthrosis of patello-femoral joints;
- damage to all articular areas.
Osteocondritis of the spine
Degenerative diseases of the spine: osteochondrosis, spondylosis, spondylarthrosis.
In osteochondrosis, degenerative processes begin in the intervertebral discs in the pulpous nucleus. With spondylosis, bodies of adjacent vertebrae are involved in the process. With spondylarthrosis, damage to the intervertebral joints occurs. Degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the spine are very dangerous and poorly treatable. The degree of pathology is determined by the functional and morphological features of the discs.
People over 50 suffer from these disorders in 90% of cases. Recently, there has been a tendency to rejuvenate spinal diseases, they are found even in young patients aged 17-20 years. More often, osteochondrosis is observed in people who are engaged in excessive physical labor.
Clinical manifestations depend on the localization of the expressed processes and may constitute neurological, static, autonomic disorders.
Degenerative diseases of the nervous system
Degenerative diseases of the nervous system combine a large group. All diseases characterize the defeat of groups of neurons that bind the body to certain external and internal factors. This occurs as a result of disturbances in intracellular processes, often due to genetic defects.
Many degenerative diseases are manifested by limited or diffuse brain atrophy, and microscopic reduction of neurons occurs in certain structures. In some cases, only a violation in the functions of the cells occurs, their death does not occur, brain atrophy does not develop (essential tremor, idiopathic dystonia).
The vast majority of degenerative diseases have long periods of latent development, but a steadily progressive form.
Degenerative diseases of the central nervous system are classified by clinical manifestations and reflect the involvement of certain structures of the nervous system. Stand out:
- Diseases with manifestations of extrapyramidal syndromes ( Huntington's disease, tremor, Parkinson's disease).
- Diseases showing cerebellar ataxia (spinocerebellar degeneration).
- Diseases with lesions of motor neurons (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
- Diseases with manifestation of dementia (Peak's disease, Alzheimer's disease).
Alzheimer's disease
Neurodegenerative diseases with manifestations of dementia often occur in old age. The most common is Alzheimer's disease. It progresses in people over 80 years old. In 15% of cases, the disease is familial. It develops over 10-15 years.
Lesions of neurons begin in the associative areas of the parietal cortex, temporal and frontal, while the auditory, visual and somatosensory areas remain unaffected. In addition to the disappearance of neurons, important characteristics include deposits in the senile plaques of the amyloid, as well as thickening and thickening of the neurofibrillary structures of degenerating and preserved neurons, they contain tauprotein. In all older people, such changes occur in small amounts, but with Alzheimer's disease they are more pronounced. There have also been cases where the clinic resembled the course of dementia, but many plaques were not observed.
The atrophied zone has a reduced blood supply, this can be an adaptation when neurons disappear. This disease can not be a consequence of atherosclerosis.
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is also called trembling paralysis. This degenerative brain disease progresses slowly, while selectively damaging dopaminergic neurons, manifested by a combination of rigidity with akinesia, postural instability and resting tremor. The cause of the disease is still unclear. There is a version that the disease is hereditary.
The prevalence of the disease is wide and reaches people over 65 in a ratio of 1 out of 100.
The disease manifests itself gradually. The first manifestations are trembling of the limbs, sometimes gait changes, stiffness. At first, patients notice pain in the back and limbs. Symptoms are first one-sided, then the second side is connected.
Parkinson's disease progression
The main manifestation of the disease is akinesia or impoverishment, slowing down of movements. The face eventually becomes masky (hypomimia). Flashing is rare, so the gaze seems piercing. Friendly movements disappear (waved hands when walking). Subtle finger movements are impaired. The patient hardly changes position, gets up from a chair or turns in his sleep. The speech is monotonous and muffled. The steps become shuffling, short. The main manifestation of parkinsonism - tremor of the hands, lips, jaw, head, occurs at rest. Tremor may depend on the emotions and other movements of the patient.
In the later stages, mobility is sharply limited, and the ability to balance is lost. Many patients experience mental disorders, but only some develop dementia.
The rate of disease progression is different, it can be for many years. By the end of life, patients are completely immobilized, swallowing is difficult, there is a risk of aspiration. As a result, death most often occurs from bronchopneumonia.
Essential tremor
A degenerative disease is characterized by benign trembling, not to be confused with Parkinson's disease. Hand tremor occurs when you move or hold a pose. In 60%, the disease is hereditary, manifests itself most often at the age of over 60 years. It is believed that the cause of hyperkinesis is a violation between the cerebellum and the nuclei of the trunk.
Tremor may increase with fatigue, excitement, the use of coffee, some drugs. It happens that the tremor involves head movements of the type “no-no” or “yes-yes”, legs, tongue, lips, vocal cords, body can be connected. Over time, the amplitude of the tremor increases, and this violates the normal quality of life.
Life expectancy does not suffer, neurological symptoms are absent, intellectual functions are preserved.