Parkinson’s Disease Essay

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 degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that affects the motor system. It is marked by tremor at rest, muscular rigidity, postural instability, and slow, imprecise movement. The most obvious symptoms are movement related, which include; shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, difficult with walking, balance, and gait. Other motor symptoms include: posture disturbances, such as a decrease in arm swing, a forward flexed posture, and the use of small steps when walking. Speech and swallowing disturbances are also common motor problems that can appear as well to a patient with Parkinson's disease. Young adults rarely experience Parkinson's disease because it is more common to affect

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,

Many people have probably heard of Parkinson’s disease, as is it is a relatively common disease, however little know what the disease is, and how it affects your body. Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive, and degenerative disease and what it does, is affect the nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine. Dopamine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, and is responsible for balancing acetylcholine. Acetylcholine on the other hand is a facilitory neurotransmitter. what that means is obviously there is now an imbalance in the body’s system. The picture on the left shows how transitions of dopamine differs from a person with Parkinson’s compared to a person without. The other picture shows the activity level

* Parkinson: Parkinson’s disease affects dopamine producing cells of the brain; the symptoms include muscle rigidity, tremors, and changes in speech and gait. Parkinson's

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Two other names for PD are shaking palsy and Paralysis agitans. Parkinson’s disease is initiated when the cells in the brain that produce dopamine die over time. Dopamine is a brain chemical used by nerve cells that helps to control the body 's muscle movement. Without those brain cells and the dopamine they produce, it becomes increasingly more difficult for the cells that control movement to send messages to the muscles; affecting the body’s movement. As time goes on the damage worsens. There is not a known cause as to why these brain cells die, although there are a few theories ("MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia:

During Parkinson’s your brain stops making dopamine causing your muscles and brain to work much more slowly. Slowly as the dopamine and stops producing the Parkinson's gets worse and the body slowly stops

Parkinson's disease is neurodegenerative brain disorder that affects the brain and nervous system. When someone get Parkinson's it slowly develops in most people who get the disease. PD or Parkinson’s Disease affects people when they start to reach 60 years old. When a person is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease the brain slowly stops producing a neurotransmitter called dopamine. The less dopamine a person has the harder it is to control their abilities to regulate their emotions and body motions. Imagine not having any control of your hands, legs, arms, and emotions… heartbreaking. There is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease right now but with your help and donations made out to the michael J. Fox

This lead to what we know today (Dauer and Przedborski). Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder in which the dopamine making neurons in the brain slowly die. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that aids in movement, cognitive thinking, and many more things, so people with Parkinson’s disease usually have a tougher time getting around and thinking clearly. When the dopamine deteriorates, the neurons slowly die. Although scientists know that the loss of dopamine is what causes Parkinson’s disease, they still do not know what causes the dopamine to start deteriorating. “Many believe that by understanding the sequence of events that leads to the loss of dopamine cells, scientists will be able to develop treatments to stop or reverse the disease” (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Causes). Through advances in the technological world, scientists are being able to research in ways that some people may have never thought would be possible.

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 a disease that affects the way a person moves. Movement for a parkinson’s sufferer can be slow and shaky. There are different types of parkinson’s, multiple system atrophy (MSA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP),normal pressure hydrocephalus and tremors including essential tremors, dystonic tremors, indeterminate tremors and atypical tremors. These tremors are all part of this disease and affect all patients in different ways.

First and foremost, symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is divided among three categorizes. The first being, cardinal signs which includes the following symptoms: slow movement, rest tremor, stiff or inflexible muscles and postural instability. The next known as motor symptoms, consist of the following: hypomimia, slurred or slow speech, difficulty swallowing, sialorrhoe, and general slowness in movement. Lastly non-motor symptoms include: autonomic dysfunction, sleeping disorder, depression, dementia, and cognitive abnormalities Additionally, these symptoms do not arise all at once. Each symptoms arises periodically. Dopaminergic cells

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic disorder of the nervous system with a gradual onset that primarily affects the body’s motor system. The symptoms of the disease are mainly caused by the death of dopamine-producing cells in the midbrain. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter that, among other things, is responsible for playing a role in how the brain controls bodily movements. Therefore, the cardinal symptoms of the disease are movement related, including tremor and rigid, jerky movements. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease, meaning it gets worse over time, until it eventually leads to complete disability. Parkinson’s is a fairly common disease, and several well-known people, such as actor Michael J. Fox and boxer Muhammad Ali have

The chief neurotransmitter—or carrier of nerve signals—in this area of the brain is dopamine, which is deficient in people who have Parkinson's. The cause of this deficiency is not known, but research suggests that several factors may reinforce each other to produce Parkinson's disease. There may be a genetic predisposition for some forms of the disease—between 15 and 20 percent of people with Parkinson's are closely related to an individual who displays the disease's characteristic symptoms. In 1996 scientists identified a gene associated with a rare form of Parkinson's disease. Genetic predisposition may be limited only to rare forms of the disease, however. A 1999 study found that the most common form of Parkinson's disease is not inherited, suggesting that exposure to certain environmental agents may be a primary cause.

Dopamine levels decrease in the brain causing abnormal brain activity, leading to signs and symptoms of Parkinson 's disease. The exact cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown but many factors play a role