Parkinson 's Disease : Disease

Parkinson’s disease is caused by the destruction of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the midbrain (Substantia nigra). These nerve cells are used to coordinate smooth and regular body movement. In the absence of these cells, people often experience tremors (involuntary shaking or

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, primarily affecting voluntary, precise, and controlled movement. Parkinson’s occurs when cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die off. These cells are responsible for producing dopamine. With less and less dopamine, a person has less and less ability to regulate their movements, body and emotions. The terms "familial Parkinson's disease" and "sporadic Parkinson's disease" are used to differentiate genetic from truly idiopathic forms of the disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a very well-known disease. It plagues about five million people worldwide, about a million of those cases are in the United States. A person does not lower their chances of getting Parkinson’s by living in a certain part of the world. It is not more, likely to happen in one location than, another. It has to do with age and genetics (“Demographics of parkinson’s,” 2014). It is a disease of the older generation, around about one percent of people over the age of 60 years old have Parkinson’s disease (Hauser, 2014). As one ages the likelihood of a person developing goes up. About four percent of people over the age of 80 years old develop Parkinson’s disease. The percentage of people who have Parkinson’s that are younger than 40 years old, is less than 10 percent. It is more

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 disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. The loss of dopamine neurons in the mid-brain substantia nigra region leads to Parkinson’s, in which a person has rigidity, slowness of movement, postural instability, and typically a resting tremor. It develops gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while a tremor may be the most common sign of Parkinson’s disease, the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of

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,

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 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

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 Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease symptomized by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow imprecise movements. Typically, the disease affects middle-aged and elderly individuals. PD is associated with degeneration of the basal ganglia of the brain causing a deficiency of the neurotransmission of dopamine.

James Parkinson founded this disease in 1817 when he wrote a paper on the clinical symptoms that he had seen.(Nussbaum, 1997) The Disease is a neurodegenerative(loss of a functioning neuron) movement disorder caused by the damage to the dopamine cells in the brain. (Moore, 2005) This is a result from the loss of function of the basal ganglia cells, which in turn is caused from the failure of dopamine cells in the substantis nigra, located in the mid-brain. (Aminoff, 1994) The body cannot produce enough dopamine in the brain and therefore the voluntary movement that you do daily cannot be controlled when you have this disease. Therefore, when there is a lack of dopamine the muscle movement cannot be controlled, causing the tremors or shuffle steps. (Aminoff, 1994) The Lewy Bodies (which are abnormal proteins that develop inside a neuron) upon autopsy has been the hallmark sign of PD. These Lewy Bodies are a result of abnormal proteins that interferes with normal protein removal this then leads to the creation of inclusions inside the neuron and then into cell death.(Nussbaum, 1997)

According to a study by Murdock, Cousins, and Kernohan, these four major signs make Parkinson disease more and more crippling and life-threatening: resting tremors, Rigidity, Bradykinesia, and Postural instability. 1st sign are Resting tremors. Resting tremors are seen as the shaking of the limb, even when the person is at rest. Often, the tremor affects only the hand or fingers and the tremors can trigger during any type of movement of an affected body part. In the early stages of the disease, about 70 % of people experience a slight tremor in the hand or foot on one side of the body, or less commonly in the jaw or face. The 2nd sign is Rigidity, which causes stiffness and inflexibility of the limbs, neck and trunk. Muscles normally stretch when they move, and then relax when they are at rest. In

The most common sign of Parkinson’s is shaking of a patients body, most commonly the hands. With time these symptoms worsen and can become as serious as having difficulty swallowing in the later stages of the disease (WebMD, 2014). The symptoms that occur in between these two stages vary greatly. A symptom that develops shortly after the beginning stage is bradykinesia, slow movement (Mayo Clinic, 2014). This affects a person’s ability to walk or even the capability to get out of bed. Another symptom such as muscle rigidity occurs in numerous patients. This muscle stiffness can arise in any part of a victim’s body. This decreases a person’s area of movement because of the immense amount irritation that takes place.

Parkinson’s shaking is caused by tremors, a tremor is a non rhythmic shaking of the muscles. The disease starts out with simple things. One may stop shaking his arms back and forth while walking, and their speech would start to slur and soften. These symptoms worsen as the disease becomes more serious.

Parkinson’s Disease is incurable, and untreatable. Some people who have the Parkinson’s gene may want to know, and some patients may not want to know. Some may want to know, because they may want to be prepared for this condition, and make arrangements for their life when the symptoms come. They may also want to join drug trials to either help themselves or try to find a treatment for the future Parkinson’s patients. Although, some people may not want to know. They may not want to know, because they are afraid that it may affect the way they