Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson’s Disease (PD), "the shaking palsy" first described by James Parkinson in 1817, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which affects in upwards of 1.5 million Americans. The disease begins to occur around age 40 and has incidence with patient age. One survey found that PD may affect 1% of the population over 60. Incidence seems to be more prominent in men, and tends to progress to incapacity and death over one or two decades.
Clinical diagnosis of PD is currently solely dependent on the presentation of the symptoms by the patient which reflect a deficiency of striatal dopamine caused by the destruction of the cells in the substantia nigra. Imaging and other laboratory techniques can be used to rule out other disorders, but are not necessary for the actual diagnosis of PD. The first sign of PA is usually bradykinesia. Movements are usually quite slow. Routine activities may require deliberate planning and thought for execution. Difficulty initiating movements or akinesia, may also be present. Rigidity in the flexors is also present. This is due to an exaggerated response to normal proprioceptive return from the somatic musculature. A resting tremor of 3-6 Hz is also a prominent feature of PD. This may cause difficulties in handwriting as a symptom. Impaired postural reflexes is also a presenting feature in PD. Patients can easily lose their balance when pushed slightly, and may need to be caught to keep from falling. These signs can be tested by observing the patients walking, getting out of deep chairs, and performing rapid repetitive movements. Increased disturbances in cognitive abilities can also show evidence of PD. Even with all these signs of PD, it may be present and undiagnosed f...
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...ly researched today. Hopefully, the disease will soon be able to be diagnosed early enough that its progression can be stopped and be cured. With current research and development, this day may soon come.
Works Cited:
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Paulson, G. W. Management of the patient with newly -diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. Geriatrics, Feb. 1993: 30-40.
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.
With more than 200,000 US cases per year, Parkinson’s disease has become a major part
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...
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.
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.
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.
...g, the District is right to terminate Fern Root. In the case of T.W.A v. Hardison, Hardison sued his employers for failing to make reasonable accommodations for his religious beliefs. However, in that case, reasonable accommodations were made by Trans World Airlines. In this case, reasonable accommodations were not made for the religious beliefs of Fern Root. It would be best to apologize profusely to Fern Root and offer Root her position back, with the promise of days off to fulfill her religious obligations. Additionally, it would be beneficial to mention that the ingestion of illegal narcotics during school again would be grounds for immediate dismissal.
Goldmann, David R., and David A. Horowitz. American College of Physicians Home Medical Guide to Parkinson's Disease. New York: Dorling Kindersley Pub., 2000. Print.
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.
"Secondary Parkinsonism: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.
There exists a group of people who live the final years of their lives in glass boxes. They are perfectly capable of seeing outside, but incapable of reaching out to the world around them. Their emotions can not be shown through facial expression, and as their condition continues, speech also becomes difficult or even impossible. These people are men and women of all races and geographical areas, constituting one percent of the world’s population over 50 years old. Parkinson disease is their affliction. Although Parkinsonism has been around almost as long as recorded history, there is yet to be found a cause or a cure. Medications tame the symptoms and prolong life, but are incapable of reversing the disease progression.. Diagnosis relies exclusively upon clinical signs and symptoms, because almost all laboratory and radiography tests are normal in the Parkinson patient. For this reason early diagnosis is very difficult. 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.
In the memoir “Girl Interrupted” by Susanna Kaysen, portrays a vivid and dark life of her own experience. From being just a typical 18 year old teenager, she always wanted to resemble a worthy person. Kaysen had a vast troublesome imagination, that has taunt and abuse her internally. Kaysen is an 18 year old girl who is in conflict with her borderline personality disorder, self-image, and insecurities. Kaysen explains through black and white pages about her struggle as a patient diagnose with borderline personality disorder. Entering this psychiatric with borderline personality, she meets a sociopath, a methamphetamine addict, and a depressive roomate that contributes to her experience at the psychiatric. Through out her memoir, she focuses on the treatment she is given, her disorder, and the past events that impacted her.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease affecting about 1 million people in the United States today (14). It is second in prevalence only to Alzheimer’s disease, with 1% of the population over 60 years old and 5% of the population over 85 years old with the disease (18). The average age of onset of the disease falls around 60 years old, but about 15% of people are diagnosed before age 50 (1). Although it is known to be a disease of the substantia nigra in the basal ganglia of the brain, the mechanisms producing the associated symptoms are yet to be discovered. Today, many of the therapies available to patients are developed
... interest so since he can know what he likes it is easy to have fun also creating new ways to have fun. Secondly entertaining another is the almost similar because skills that he used to entertain himself are valid on this case too because to entertain somebody else it is needed to be creative and