Disease Analysis: Parkinson's Disease

Each year more than 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PDF, 2014). That sixty thousand does not include the many thousand cases that go undetected each year. Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder that occurs in the nervous system. This disease affects a person’s movement. Parkinson’s disease develops progressively. The most common first sign of Parkinson’s is slight shaking of a body part. In the initial phase of Parkinson’s a person will experience slurring of speech and an expressionless face (Mayo Clinic, 2014). With time, the symptoms of Parkinson’s exacerbate. This disease is most frequently seen in people over the age of 50 (PDF, 2014). Parkinson’s disease is generated by a great number of reasons.

Parkinson disease (PD) is one of the most common neurologic disorders. and it affects approximately 1% of individuals older than 60 years old. Parkinson’s disease is a condition that progresses slowly by treatment. In addition, loss of pigmented dopaminergic neurons of the substantianigra pars compacta and the presence of Lewy bodies and Lewyneurites are the two major neuropathologic findings in Parkinson disease (Hauser, 2016).

By the time someone shows signs and symptoms of Parkinson 's, Dopamine production in the brain has been reduced by 60 to 80% and is fairly advanced. This results in the most recognizable sign of Parkinson 's disease, the resting tremor of the hand or hands. During deliberate movement, the resting tremor goes away, at first. At rest, the tremor will become exacerbated,

Dopamine is produced in the substantia nigra, as well as in the adrenal glands and is transmitted to the basal ganglia along a connecting neural

Parkinson’s disease is a “neurodegenerative disorder of the basal nuclei due to insufficient secretion of the neurotransmitter dopamine” (Marieb & Hoehn, 2013, p. G-17). The cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown, but many factors play a role in the development of Parkinson’s disease. One factor that has been found in an individual who has Parkinson’s disease causes over activity of targeted dopamine-deprived basal nuclei. This over activity is caused by the breakdown of neurons that release dopamine in the substantia nigra (Marieb & Hoehn, 2013). Another factor that is present in a person who has Parkinson’s disease, is the presence of lewy bodies in the brain stem ("What is lbd?," 2014). Lewy bodies are unusual

Information from the nigra cells passes through the synapses with the aid of a specific hormone, dopamine, which is a significant chemical transmitter in the brain. Because the existence of dopamine is essential to the function of the substania nigra, it is also essential for the various muscular activities controlled by the striatum, such as walking, balance, etc. (16).

PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease featured pathologically by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The typical symptoms of PD include slowness of movements (bradykinesia), muscle stiffness (rigidity), tremor, and balance disturbance. Etiopathologically, PD is considered to be caused by the significant loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the subsequent dopamine depletion at the striatum. To date, there are only symptomatic treatments available for PD, particularly in the early stages of the disease. No therapy has been found that can cure or halt the progression of the disease.

Parkinson's Disease is a literally crippling neurodegenerative disorder, manifested in about 1% of the aged population. People who have Parkinson's Disease gradually lose control of their movements; specific symptoms include, "tremor, slowness of movement, stiffness, difficulty in walking, and loss of balance." (1) Evidence strongly suggests that Parkinson's Disease is the result of severe cell loss in the substantia nigra. This brain structure is principally involved in the production of dopamine. (2) Dopamine, among other functions, is the neurotransmitter involved in initiation of movement. Hence, the link between dopaminergic cell loss and cessation of voluntary movement, as manifested

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.

Although the etiology of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) is unknown, it is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) of ventral midbrain region [9]; [1]. Its prevalence is associated with age. Approximately 1% of the population is affected at 65–70 years of age, which increases to 4–5% in 85-year-olds [2]. Various epidemiological studies and pathological analyses have demonstrated that mean age of onset in sporadic PD, which accounts for about 95% of cases of Parkinsonism is 70 years [7]; [3]. Familial form of Parkinson’s disease is linked to genetic mutations and has prevalence rate of 4%. Familial Parkinson’s disease patients develop early-onset disease before the age of 50

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.

The Parkinson 's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer 's disease (Lang and Lozano, 1998). It affects about 1% of the population with different ethnic backgrounds throughout the world over the age of 65 (Tanner and Goldman, 1996). The aetiology of Parkinson 's disease is not well understood; however, genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role (Checkoway and Nelson, 1999). Pathologically, PD is characterised by mitochondrial DNA dysfunction leading to degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (Fig.1) and subsequent reduction in striatal dopamine levels (Longmore, 2014).

Introduced by James Parkinson in his 1817 monograph “Essay on the Shaking Palsy,” Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common age-related neuro-degenerative disease identified after Alzheimer 's disease. It is a progressive disorder in result of affected nerve cells in the brain. The disease progresses gradually taking several years moving from prodromal period into motor period, and the motor period may take up to twenty years. Symptoms of PD are mostly associated with degenerated body movements, and the treatment typically include self-care, meditation, and surgery. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for PD, and the prognosis of the disease is unclear.

Parkinson’s disease is affected by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons which is responsible to produce dopamine. Dopaminergic neurons have their cell bodies in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in basal ganglia (O’Sullivan and Schmitz, 2007). Basal ganglia are a collection of interconnected gray matter nuclear masses deep within the brain”. These gray matter masses are caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus and the substantia nigra. Basal ganglia receive its input through striatum (O’Sullivan and Schmitz, 2007).

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,