Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders and is classified as a movement disorder with the presence of the motor symptoms bradykinesia, tremor and rigidity. The literature on the management of PD motor symptoms focuses extensively on the medical treatment and outlines the vast advancements that drug therapy has seen over the past 40 years. There are beneficial outcomes of medicinal therapy on the treatment of motor symptoms; however, extensive research also finds there is a wearing off effect as well as potential for motor and nonmotor side effects. As the pharmacological research continues their search for the ideal medical treatment model, awareness of the psychosocial symptoms and the potential burden on caregivers has also achieved much attention in the last few decades. The increasing interest in the psychosocial characteristics of the disease appears to stem from the evolving scientific knowledge of the disease and its lack of a cure. Compounding the sequelae of PD, nonmotor challenges are sometimes unrelated to the common progression of PD and dopamine deficiency. Clinical diagnosis of PD is often confounded by the psychosocial realm of the patients daily functioning and the impact it has on the care and treatment of patients. This paper summarizes the literature of PD from a psychosocial perspective. The first chapter reviews the intrinsic psychosocial symptoms of PD and how they may or may not be influenced by dopamine neurotransmitters. The second chapter examines the side effects of three commonly prescribed medications used to treat PD. The last chapter focuses on implications the disease has on the caregiver’s own personal well-being.
Introduction: Parkinson’s Dise...
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... cognitive, dementia, levodopa, MAO-B inhibitors, dopamine agonist + side/adverse effects and caregiver/burden/distress. All searches were limited to English language and the years 2000 - 2010. I also referred to reference lists found in articles deemed relevant to the research project. A few reviews were outside the limits of the year restriction but were included as they added to the scope of this paper. The abstracts were reviewed and deemed to be relevant for the inclusion in this literature search based on its focus and relevancy to the topics outlined in this paper. My initial search yielded over 1000 hits from the various literature databases for this paper, of which 61 were included in this review. Those that were excluded were duplicate hits found in the various databases or had a focus on an unrelated subject matter after a review of the abstract.
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.
Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder in the community resulting in significant disability. This global problem has consumed the lives of many. “Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year, and this number does not reflect the thousands of cases that go undetected” (Statistics on Parkinson’s, 2014). Once this unbiased disease has begun to affect the patient it is a lifelong battle. Parkinson’s disease has a tremendous impact on the patient as they battle for their independence and plead for their acceptance into their own community setting. People living with Parkinson’s disease struggle with tremors, bradykinesia and rigidity. It takes a skilled nurse to be able to care for the patient suffering with Parkinson. With education, support and exercise the patient will be able to feel some sense of hope for their future. The purpose of this paper to is educate the community about Parkinson’s disease and the impact on the patient and on the nurse caring for the patient.
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Have you or anyone in your family experienced unusual tremors in your head or any 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.
Parkinson's is an idiopathic, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease that attacks neurotransmitters in the brain called dopamine. Dopamine is concentrated in a specific area of the brain called the substantia nigra. The neurotransmitter dopamine is a chemical that regulates muscle movement and emotion. Dopamine is responsible for relaying messages between the substantia nigra and other parts of the brain to control body movement. The death of these neurotransmitters affects the central nervous system. The most common symptoms are movement related, including shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with posture. Behavioral problems may arise as the disease progresses. Due to the loss of dopamine, Parkinson's patients will often experience depression and some compulsive behavior. In advanced stages of the disease dementia will sometimes occur. The implications of the disease on the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory and phonatory systems significantly control speech.
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Nurse’s play a very important role in the delivery of care to an older person and in complex disease such as Parkinson’s disease, the care provided by a nurse is vital for both the patient and the family of the affected person. The aim of this essay is to understand briefly about Parkinson’s disease and associated issues and the role of the nurse in the management of the condition.
The fact that early signs of Parkinsonism can easily be overlooked as normal aging, further complicates diagnosis. Therefore, primary care physicians of the middle-aged and elderly population must be extremely sensitive to patients’ outward appearance and changes in movement ability. 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).
Parkinson's disease, Elderly patient, Bradykinesia, Akinesia, Substantia Nigra, Alpha-synuclein, Rest tremor, Micrographia, Levodopa, Carbidopa, Dopamine, Frozen gait, Depression, Deep Brain Stimulation, Hospice, Living will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (DPHC).
Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common nervous system disorders. This disease is part of a group of conditions that are referred to as motor system disorders. Motor system disorders are the result of the loss of dopamine producing brain cells. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter. It acts as the chemical messenger in the transmission of signals in the brain and other vial areas. Dopamine is found in humans as well as animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. Further information on dopamine can be found by visiting http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Dopamine.aspx. There are four primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, which include (1) tremors or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw and face, (2) rigidity or stiffness of the limns and trunk, (3) bradykinesia or slowness of movement, and (4) postural instability or impaired balance and coordination..
Without this vital dopamine nerve cells cannot properly transmit messages resulting in a loss of muscle function.Parkinson's Disease is a non-communicable disease and doctors have not yet found out whether or not it is a hereditary disease. Parkinson's Disease has many distinct symptoms. The symptoms are:Muscle Rigiditystiffness difficulty bending arms or legsunstable, stooped, or slumped-over posture loss of balancewalking pattern changesslow movements difficulty beginning to walk difficulty initiating any...
Many people around the world today suffer from Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. A movement disorder is a disorder impairing the speed, fluency, quality, and ease of movement. There are many types of movement disorders such as impaired fluency and speed of movement (dyskinesia), excessive movements (hyperkinesia), and slurred movements (hypokinesia). Some types of movement disorders are ataxia, a lack of coordination, Huntington's disease, multiple system atrophies, myoclonus, brief, rapid outbursts of movement, progressive supranuclear palsy, restless legs syndrome, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, tics, Tourette's syndrome, tremor, Wilson disease, dystonia, which causes involuntary body movement, and Parkinson's disease. Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, and tics are one of the most widely known of these disorders, known to impair people of movements and rob them of their lives.
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