Parkinson 's Disease : A Long Term Progressive Neurodegenerative Disease Essay

36. _ Dementia__ is a general term used to describe a permanent or progressive organic mental disorder. A common form of this disorder seen in individuals older than 60 years of age is _Alzheimer's Disease_ disease.

Furthermore Parkinson’s disease, which is associated with a depletion of dopamine display behaviours characteristic of schizophrenia when given too much L-DOPA, a dopamine stimulant (Gershon, Angrist, and Shopsin, 1977 as cited in Kalat, 1992). In addition if schizophrenics are given drugs such as L-DOPA their symptoms are heightened. (Kalat, 1992).

Parkinson 's disease is a progressive neurologic degenerative disease of the Central Nervous system. The brain produces Dopamine and Norepinephrine, which are chemicals needed for smooth muscle movement and coordination, heart rate, and blood pressure. Dopamine and Norepinephrine are released by basal ganglions that are produced in a bundle of nerve cells in the brainstem called substantia nigra. In Parkinson 's patients, the substantia nigra are destroyed and neither of the chemicals can be released into the body. (3) The decrease in Norepinephrine causes heart arrhythmia and low blood pressure, causing the person to get dizzy upon standing or tire easily. The lack of Dopamine, the smooth muscle movement and coordination controller is now gone, or significantly decreased, resulting in the first signs of Parkinson’s disease, pill-rolling, a one handed tremor and a decreased appetite. (2)

The World Health Organization projects that, by 2040, neurodegenerative diseases will become more common than cancer (Cashell, 2014). Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is widely listed as the second most common neurodegenerative disease (Wuong, 2012; Gillies et al., 2014; Cashell, 2014; Walker, Davidson, & Gray, 2012). This disease, usually characterized by a tremor, but featuring systemic effects, has been diagnosed in one to two percent of people over age 65 (Casey, 2013). Parkinson’s disease is incurable; the goal of the healthcare team is to help the patient to maintain function, independence and quality of life (Miertová et al., 2014; Magennis, Lynch, & Corry, 2014). In the discussion that follows, current understanding of the causes and treatment of PD will be summarized, along with examples of nursing interventions.

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.

The symptoms of Parkinson's disease that Ali experienced began in the early 1980's. His feet didn't seem to move as fast as they once did, and the usually proud man slouched forward in a defeated position. His thinking was also beginning to be impaired.

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.

The assessment process of PDD is complex and consists of multiple steps. The first step is a medical records review in terms of history of motor symptoms, age of onset, any cognitive changes and their progression, available brain scan results, timing, and reactions to antiparkinsonian and other medications, especially ones with anticholinergic effects. To be able to time neuropsychological testing appropriately is helpful to know about any fluctuations in movement impairments, attention, daytime sleepiness, and overall sleep patterns. The presence of psychiatric symptoms, medical conditions, and surgical procedures related as well as unrelated to PDD presence important information (Trosten & Brower, 2013).

A study by Belujon and Anthony (2013) on the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and publications by Grilly (2002) suggests that patients with PD showed increased levels of dopamine secretion when given L-dopa, but consequentially started showing many symptoms of psychosis. The findings above indicate that increased levels of dopamine in the brain correlate to the varying symptoms of schizophrenia and psychosis (Belujon & Anthony, 2013; Grilly, 2002). However, studies by Bradford (2009) established that the use of antipsychotics, such as Phencyclidine (PCP) and Ketamine, produced decreased levels of glutamate in the brain’s cerebrospinal fluid, which have been shown to be involved in the development of schizophrenia. Furthermore, studies conducted on the human use of PCP and Ketamine have been found to cause positive symptoms of schizophrenia, psychosis and characteristics of cognitive defects (Howes & Kapur, 2009; Bradford,

Parkinson’s Disease is known as one of the most common progressive and chronic neurodegenerative disorders. It belongs to a group of conditions known as movement disorders. Parkinson disease is a component of hypokinetic disorder because it causes a decreased in bodily movement. It affects people who are usually over the age of 50. It can impair an individual motor as well as non-motor function. Some of the primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are characterized by tremors or trembling in hands, legs and arms. In early symptoms the tremor can be unilateral, appearing in one side of body but progression in the disease can cause it to spread to both sides; rigidity or a resistant to movement affects most people with Parkinson’s disease,

Parkinson’s Disease is a very common disorder these days. Over 10 million people live daily with Parkinson worldwide. Parkinson’s Disease was named after an English surgeon James Parkinson who wrote a detailed description essay called Shaking Palsy in 1817. The average age for Parkinson’s Disease is between 45 to 70 years old but you can also have juvenile or young onset as well. Most common symptoms of Parkinson are tremors, bradykinesia or akinesia, or rigidity or stiffness, and balance disorder. Parkinson’s Disease doesn’t have a cure and the cause is unknown it could be a number of things genetics, environmental triggers, age, or gender. Parkinson’s Disease happens because the dopaminergic neuron dies and

Parkinson’s Disease-like pathologies are found in different organisms. However, the pathology do not necessarily result in Parkinson’s-like symptoms. In horses, dysfunction of the pituitary pars intermedia due to the loss of dopaminergic neurons within the hypothalamus is a characteristic of Cushing’s disease (Spelta, 2015). Currently, it is hypothesized that with age, oxidation within the hypothalamus causes the loss of dopaminergic neurons. In equine Cushing’s disease, proopiomelanocortin peptides (POMC), such as acetylcholine (ACTH), α-melanocyte-stimulation hormone (α-MSH), and ß-endorphin, are mass-produced due to the lack of dopamine inhibiting melanotrope cells of the pars intermedia within the pituitary gland (Toribio, 2012). With

It is estimated that seven to ten million people are currently living with Parkinson’s disease around the world. There’s no manual on how to take care of a loved one suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. However, there are tips to make your life as a caregiver a bit easier.

disorder that affects 10 million people worldwide. It is characterized by progressive loss of midbrain dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Neither the molecular mechanism that underlies the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s is fully understood nor preventative and effective treatment is available. In the past few years, epigenetic mechanisms have emerged as potential mediators of environmental factors which cause abnormal epigenetic modifications which have been detected in PD. The term Epigenetics, refers to reversible heritable alterations in gene expression without any changes in DNA sequence. Fundamental mechanism of epigenetic regulation is mainly chromatin modification which is divided into several categories including DNA methylation, histone modification, histone variant, and non-coding RNA. This assignment discusses on recent studies on how epigenetic dysregulation, which modulates gene expression, plays key role in

Parkinson disease (PD) and related disorders (PRD) are conditions that influence elderly individuals with most extreme pervasiveness and occurrence rates inside of the age group of 75–85 years. Presence of several other co morbidities associated can eventually affect on the independence and also the life quality (Margarita et al, 2010). Parkinsonism is also a very common disease condition in the elderly population, especially the elderly with associated dementia (Friedman et al, 2004). Parkinsonism is neurologic progressive disorder which is induced by dopamine generating neurons loss in the substantia nigra of the brain (Schapira et al, 2010). The reduced level of dopamine produces a wide range of motor symptoms like the resting tremor, slow movement of the limbs, muscle rigidity and mask like expressions on the face also known as hypomimia (Cotton and Hesters, 2012). Parkinsonism is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative condition (Nolden, , Tartavoulle & Porche, 2014). In addition to these characteristic motor symptoms it will also be accompanied by cognitive problems, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal problems and also mood disorders (Lindahl and MacMahon, 2012). A qualified Nurse can help such a resident/ patient to manage their illness by making certain changes in the prescription whenever necessary, by monitoring their condition and also by bringing issues to light about Parkinsonism and its care.