Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a nervous system disorder that affects nearly five million people world wide. Most of the effects of PD are movement based. It is more prevalent in men and the chance of developing the disease increases with age. Fifteen percent of those with Parkinson’s have been identified as having a family history of the disease. Those who are 80 or older may be one-thousand times more likely to develop PD than those under 40 (Jankovic & Tolosa, 2015). The symptoms of PD were first described in 1817 by James Parkinson. Over time, Parkinson was able to observe the disease in six different patients, seeing the similarities in their symptoms. As sciences have advanced at a rapid rate, the understanding of PD has …show more content…
Gastrointestinal issues, such as difficulties swallowing and digestion, along with urinary tract issues, are also common (Dewey, 2004). Many cognitive problems are also present in PD. Problems with speech and memory are often noted. Visual analysis and facial recognition skills deteriorate and executive functioning becomes impaired. Bradyphrenia, the slowing of thoughts, often occurs also (Levin, Tomer, & Rey, 1992). The diagnosis of PD is based off of a physical exam and patient history. If someone experiences bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability, or tremors at rest, they will be considered to have PD. Just one of these symptoms needs to be present for a diagnosis, although they can occur simultaneously. About 10-25% of PD diagnosis are misdiagnosed so it is important to extensively observe a patient’s symptoms before diagnosis. The patient’s history is observed to see if they present symptoms that are associated with other disorders. This allows for similar disorders to be ruled out, increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis. Dopaminergic therapy can be administered and if there is a lasting, significant response, it is likely that the person has PD. If they do not have a response from this treatment, it is an indication of a disease other than Parkinson’s (Savitt, Dawson, & Dawson, 2006). Etiology Both environmental and genetic factors have been proposed causes of PD. Studies have suggested that exposure to certain
Each year more than 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PDF, 2014). That sixty thousand does not include the many thousand cases that go undetected each year. Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder that occurs in the nervous system. This disease affects a person’s movement. Parkinson’s disease develops progressively. The most common first sign of Parkinson’s is slight shaking of a body part. In the initial phase of Parkinson’s a person will experience slurring of speech and an expressionless face (Mayo Clinic, 2014). With time, the symptoms of Parkinson’s exacerbate. This disease is most frequently seen in people over the age of 50 (PDF, 2014). Parkinson’s disease is generated by a great number of reasons.
PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease featured pathologically by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The typical symptoms of PD include slowness of movements (bradykinesia), muscle stiffness (rigidity), tremor, and balance disturbance. Etiopathologically, PD is considered to be caused by the significant loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the subsequent dopamine depletion at the striatum. To date, there are only symptomatic treatments available for PD, particularly in the early stages of the disease. No therapy has been found that can cure or halt the progression of the disease.
Research is still being done over this debate. It is thought that environmental factors by themselves are not a cause of PD, but the environmental factors may trigger the disease in people who are genetically susceptible. In a lot of cases it has been noted that many people who contact PD have lived in rural areas, specifically those who drink private well water, and (or) are agricultural workers (Larkin).
Parkinson’s disease has four main symptoms it is associated with: slowness of movement, tremors, stiffness, and trouble with balance. In order to be diagnosed, a patient must have “two of the four main symptoms present over a period of time” (“Understanding”). Along with
Symptom severity varies person-to-person and early signs sometimes go unnoticed. Usually the symptoms will begin unilaterally and eventually progress to both sides, with the original side remaining worse (Tagliati, 2007). People with PD also have a slumped posture with an abnormally slow gait with shuffling feet. They also may suffer from an issue called freezing. Freezing causes the person to be frozen in place involuntarily for a moment (National Parkinson’s Foundation). Because Parkinson’s causes bradykinesia, or slowing in motion, everyday task take more energy and time to complete. Tasks that seem simple to the healthy individual like getting out of bed is an accomplishment to those suffering with this disease.
For many 50 year olds, tasks such as writing or walking can be easily preformed without much attention. In fact, the term “task” seems to stress that there is a greater level of effort than is truly exerted in order for the average person to perform these actions. However, for a patient of Parkinson’s Disease who is diagnosed on average at the age of 50, these every day activities take a great deal of time, attention, and effort to be preformed (Huston). With the growth of research about this disease, a variety of treatment options ranging from medication to surgery are currently available to patients who suffer from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s Disease.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world. Since an increasing number of people are reaching a high age, it is predicted that also the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease will be higher in the future. The symptoms of the disease are both motor symptoms like tremor and impairment of the gait, but along with that, psychological symptoms and memory loss are evident in many cases.
The secondary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, also known as Non-motor functions can vary in severity of individuals. They include anxiety, insecurity, stress, confusion, memory loss, dementia, constipation, depression, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, diminished sense of smell, increased sweating, male erectile dysfunction, skin problems, slowed, quieter speech, monotone voice, and urinary frequency/ urgency. This also includes REM sleep behavior disorder, restless leg syndrome, leg swelling, excessive sweating, double vision, delusions and impulse control disorders.
It is unclear if Parkinson's is caused by genetics, environment, or a combination of both.
One of the most commonly seen neurological disorders is Parkinson’s disease (PD). Named after the doctor who first identified the disease as “the shaking palsy” Dr James Parkinson (1755-1824), Parkinson’s disease affects over 1 million Americans today. On average around 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease annually. This is an alarming number of new cases but what is even more startling is the fact that thousands of cases go undetected each year as well. PD is a clinical diagnosis with no definitive diagnostic test to identify the disease.
Parkinson’s is a disease where patients do not have enough dopamine, because some of their nerve cells have died in the brain. Dopamine controls the movement in the body, and without it movement becomes slow. Treatments for Parkinson’s are used to control the symptoms. This disease is not well known because patients do not generally die from Parkinson’s. As Parkinson’s progresses the symptoms get worse and can cause other health issues. I used current research papers and information found pertaining to different Parkinson’s organizations to argue the point that Parkinson’s does not have enough awareness and funding for scientists to find a cure.
The pathology behind PDD is a dopaminergic neuronal loss in the substantia nigra and the presence of Lewy bodies made up of α-synuclein in the cell bodies and processes of the neurons that are left over (Rongve, Dauer). The dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra are being lost or inhibited by the production of the misfolded proteins resulting in the lewy bodies. The neurons of the substantia nigra are thought to make up the nigrostriatal pathway, thus their destruction would result in loss of dopamine up to the striatum, made up of the caudate nucleus and putamen. This loss of sufficient dopamine to the striatum of the basal ganglia is what is causing most of the motor movement symptoms seen in PD patients (Dauer). My grandpa used to be a police officer, and I have always perceived him as this big tough guy who could take on anything. After he got older and his PD developed, his movements got much slower and I saw him become this timid man who was unsure
Parkinson’s disease or PD is classified into idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, parkinsonism due to identifiable causes and parkinsonism in other neurodegenerative disorders. True Parkinson disease is classified into two subclinical groups. One group demonstrates postural instability and gait disturbances as dominant symptoms whereas the other group exhibits tremor as the prominent feature (O’Sullivan and Schmitz, 2007).
Charcot examined a large group of patients within Salpetriere Hospital in Paris, he had developed a way to observe tremors in action and at rest. “He noted that the patients with action tremor had accompanying features of weakness, spasticity, and visual disturbance. In contrast, those with rest tremor differed in having rigidity, slowed movements, a typical hunched posture, and very soft spoken.” (Goetz 2011) Charcot early tremor studies helped to establish Parkinson’s Disease through his very high publicized findings that neurological entity could be confidently be diagnosed. In 1957 a Swedish scientist Arvid Carlsson found out that dopamine in the brain region that is important for movement control. He showed that the levels of dopamine can be reduced in animals to cause symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease and also by giving the animals levodopa (L-dopa) to reverse the symptoms of PD. PD is second most common neurodegenerative after Alzheimer’s Disease and the most common movement disorder. Over 60,000 people here in the United States are diagnosed every year but they say the numbers can be much higher with undiagnosed people out there but over one million people live with Parkinson daily.10 million people worldwide live with Parkinson’s Disease and April 11th is World Parkinson’s Day. On April 11th, 2017 marked 200 years since James Parkinson publicized his essay.
Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized mainly by physical and psychological disabilities. This disorder was named after James Parkinson, an English physician who first described it as shaking palsy in 1817 (Goetz, Factr, and Weiner, 2002). Jean- Martin Charcot, who was a French neurologist, then progressed and further refined the description of the disease and identified other clinical features of PD (Goetz, Factr, and Weiner, 2002). PD involves the loss of cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine in a part of the brain stem called the substansia nigra, which results in several signs and symptoms (Byrd, Marks, and Starr, 2000). It is manifested clinically by tremor,