Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease, a chronic, progressive, and neurodegenerative brain disorder affecting body movement, known to have no cure, yet has treatments that will help in managing the disease. This disease is named after James Parkinson, an English physician who described this illness. Approximately one million people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (What is Parkinson’s, n.d.). This disease is identified to be slow in progression and symptoms of this will only worsen as time goes on. Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease (Simpson, Murray, & Eccles, 2010).
Parkinson’s disease is “Characterized by the degeneration of the substantia nigra within the basal ganglia, causing a gradual decrease of the neurotransmitter dopamine” (Webb & Adler, 2008, p. 296). This disease is yet to have a known cause, although researchers are working hard in search of one. In other words, Parkinson’s disease is described as a dopamine deficiency in the caudate nucleus and the putamen (Webb & Adler, 2008, p. 176), and an excess amount of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. There is no answer as to why there is a breakdown of these nerve cells that cause Parkinson’s disease. Researchers are pointing to genetic and environmental factors that may be the cause (The Michael J Fox, n.d.).
There are numerous theories regarding what causes Parkinson’s disease, such as Lewy bodies; these are proteins that are abnormal and aged, accumulated together. Another theory is pointing towards oxidative stress; this is when there is a loss of ability with the Dopaminergic neurons in processing excess amounts of toxic free radicals, leading to their death. Mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation in ...
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...ia nigra than in that of healthy brains, and the remaining class often show signs of abnormality” (Weiner et al., 2001, p. 7). This is one of the major differences from a typical functioning brain and one that is suffering from Parkinson’s disease. As said previously, those with Parkinson’s suffer from a loss of dopamine, contrasting those who are typical functioning. This disorder will impact the patient in many ways ranging from the way they walk, their voice pitch, how they swallow, and much more.
Researchers are still in hope for finding a cure to this disease. Parkinson’s may change a patients life in many ways; effecting day to day movements that vary in each person. This disease will become a way of life for most patients, something they must learn to live and cope with. Unfortunately the cure is yet to be found, but we are all in hope for finding one soon.
Parkinson’s disease is not a condition that is necessarily easy to be diagnosed. Therefore, the individual is advised to see a Parkinson’s specialist to receive the most accurate diagnosis and consider what the best course of treatment for the individual would be.
Many people, like myself, after watching an episode of “The Michael Jay Fox Show,” started to be come curious as to what exactly this disease is. You ask yourself; What is this disease? What causes it? Can it be passed down from generation to generation? Is there a treatment? What would your life be like suffering from this? Through my research on Parkinson’s disease, I am determined to answer these questions. I hope to have a better understanding on this disease, and how it affects the lives of patients that I might see in a hospital.
With more than 200,000 US cases per year, Parkinson’s disease has become a major part
Parkinson disease (PD), also referred to as Parkinson’s disease and paralysis agitans, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is the third most common neurologic disorder of older adults. It is a debilitating disease affecting motor ability and is characterized by four cardinal symptoms: tremor rigidity, bradykinesia or kinesis (slow movement/no movement), and postural instability. Most people have primary, or idiopathic, disease. A few patients have secondary parkinsonian symptoms from conditions such as brain tumors and certain anti-psychotic drugs.
Most signs and symptoms of Parkinson disease correspond to one of three motor deficiencies: bradykinesia, akinesia, tremor, and rigidity. The first two qualities are usually present before tremor, but often attributed to aging by the patient and even the physician, and thus the disease is rarely diagnosed until tremor becomes evident much later. An average of 80% of the nigrostriatal neurons may have already degenerated by the time Parkinsonism is diagnosed, which complicates treatment (Fitzgerald, 130). Bra...
Parkinson’s Disease is a chronic movement disorder that is progressive, meaning it gets worse over time. According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation website, “Parkinson’s involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Parkinson's primarily affects neurons in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part
Parkinson 's disease is a chronic progressive neurological disorder in which cells are slowly lost in the brain over the years. The fact that cells are lost makes it a neurodegenerative disorder fitting in the same category as Alzheimer disease. A person with Parkinson’s disease can also experience a wide range of physical and psychological symptoms, including depression, constipation, problems sleeping (insomnia), loss of sense of smell (anosmia) and memory problems. ()
James Parkinson first discovered Parkinson's Disease in 1817. Parkinson's Disease is a common neurologic disorder for the elderly. It is a disorder of the brain characterized by shaking and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. This disease is associated with damage to a part of the brain that controls muscle movement. Parkinson's Disease is a chronic illness that is still being extensively studied.
Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the nervous system, and occurs when the brain cells that are in charge of producing dopamine in the body start to slow down the dopamine making process and/or stop it all together. These dopamine producing cells can be found in a grouping of cells called the substantia nigra, which is found in the mesencephalon, also known as the midbrain. What dopamine does is it sends the electrical signals in the brain between the dopamine producing nerve cells from the substantia nigra to the corpus striatum (part of the forebrain). With the right flow of electrical signals between nerve cells, your body will produce smooth muscle movements. When the production of the dopamine is interrupted, slows down, or comes to a stop, this will cause a lack of dopamine. With this lack of dopamine, the muscles in the body will produce shaky and jerky movements instead of the smooth and graceful movements which those muscles are used to. Disrupted for long enough, and during an acute attack of Parkinson’s disease, the dopamine producing cells and the tissue around them will then start to die off causing a short...
There is a lot still left to learn about familial and sporadic Parkinson’s disease. This neurodegenerative disease affects nearly 1% of the population over the age of 65 (Hindawi), yet the exact cause of the disease is not yet fully understood. Strides were made towards the answer when researchers were able to locate the site of the mutation. Through careful research, more was learned about the disease’s roots and even though we don’t have the full answer some researchers are on their way to finding a cure. Although the exact cause of familial Parkinson’s isn’t yet conceived, scientific breakthroughs have led us down a road of discovery that has brought us to new findings.
Parkinson’s disease has become front page news as of late. It has caught the attention of many due to its unrestricted and devastating effects. People from all walks of life can suffer from the disease. It has no economic, social, or religious boundaries. Well known celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Michael J. Fox, Estelle Getty, Billy Graham, Janet Reno, Pope John Paul II, and Johnny Cash, among many others, have fallen victim to this debilitating ailment. Because Parkinson’s disease is “one of the most common neurologic disorders of older adults” (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2016, p. 867), it is important to review and learn about this disorder. Parkinson’s disease affects approximately four million people worldwide and
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor dysfunctions including: tremors at rest, difficulty initiating and executing voluntary movements, slowed movements (bradykinesia), muscular rigidity and postural instability. The specific cause of the Parkinson’s disease is still unknown; many scientists have found correlations of genetic, environmental (toxins), and lifestyle factors (stressful life events and nutrition) with increased risks of PD. Parkinson’s disease is more common in the Midwest and Northeast affecting Caucasians and Hispanics more than Asians or African Americans. Men are approximately 1.5 times more likely to have Parkinson’s disease than women. The age of onset is variable; most patients are at greater risk after the age of 50 however there are patients who have early onset Parkinson’s disease around the age of 40.
The chronic disease I am researching and writing about is named Parkinson's disease (PD). By definition, Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressive neurologic disease characterized by an expressionless face, tremor at rest, slowing of voluntary movements, walking manners are with short accelerating steps, peculiar posture and muscle weakness, caused by degeneration of an area of the brain known as the basal ganglia, and low production of the neurotransmitter dopamine (basically a chemical released by nerve cells to send signals to other nerve cells). In other words, Parkinson's disease is a disorder that affects the way your body moves and it happens when there is a problem with certain nerve cells in the brain. These nerve cells generally
Age, sex, and heredity all play a part in developing the disease. Young people, women, and those without Parkinson’s in their immediate family are less likely to develop the disease. Research has shown that people who do have high risk factors for Parkinson’s may be able to reduce their risk with regular aerobic exercise. However, once a patient has developed Parkinson’s disease their prognosis depends on the severity of their disease. Each patient has different symptoms and different intensities of those symptoms. Those with a more severe case of the disease will have a poor quality of life as opposed to those who are high functioning whom will have a higher quality of
Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological degenerative disorder that affects movement. It was discovered and analyze by James Parkinson in 1817. This disease is a progressive disease; it gets worse with the passing of the years. The disease itself is not deadly, but it has serious side effects. The CDC rated these complications as the 14th cause of deaths in the U.S.