Hansen's Disease

An increase in the strength of a muscle’s contraction is necessary to perform a task. Subsequently, the brain increases the number of simultaneously active motor units within the muscle by a process known as the motor unit recruitment. Physical muscle movement in humans involves movement of fibers which are hundreds of cylindrically shaped cells bound together by connective tissue. It is essential for individuals, mainly professionals who work to promote health, to understand the mechanisms in the body. Resting skeletal muscles in vivo exhibit a phenomenon known as tonus, a constant state of slight tension that serves to maintain the muscle by motor centers in the brain and spinal cord. However, muscle

Without any thought, without even noticing it happens, when one has an itch, they scratch it. The arm moves up to the face, the fingers reach down and move across the skin. This series of actions, which many of us do everyday is something individuals with Parkinson's disease struggle with every moment of their lives. Simple movements are replaced by frozen limbs that they or their nervous system can not move. Described by many as a type of momentary paralysis, the disease causes gradual degeneration in patients until they are no longer able to perform the most basic bodily functions, such as swallowing or blinking.

There was also a theory that damage to the STN would relief some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and to prove this, a test was conducted on monkeys. The results were that there was an immediate relief of akinesia and bradykinesia in contralateral limbs, this was the first support of a positive role that the STN serves on hyperkinetic disorders.

This fact is substantiated by the progressive disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. This progressive neurodegenerative disease disrupts nerve cells' ability to function (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). It is considered a terminal disease because those diagnosed with the disease die normally within three to four years. Nerve cells commonly referred to as motor neurons act as modes of communication that convey signals to the concerning body part. These messages sent from the brain are the catalyst for all the body’s movement and functions. According to the ASL association, the brain integrates, coordinates, and processes voluntary and involuntary actions (1). The brain works effectively to assure that all processes are performed correctly. Oppositely, those afflicted with ASL are unable to coordinate the body necessary components. This results in limited mobility which results in atrophy.

A simple spinal reflex is a reflex—involuntary, graded, patterned response to a stimulus—that is produced via a single synapse between sensory axons and motor neurons and confined to the spinal cord. In this experiment, two simple spinal reflexes—the myotactic reflex and the H-reflex—were stimulated. We compared a) the latency period—the amount of time between a stimulus and the effector response— and the amplitude—magnitude of an electrical signal—of each reflex; then, b) the effect of the Jendrassik Maneuver (JM) upon the latency period and amplitude of each respective reflex. For the myotactic response, a mechanical stimulus, a sharp strike of the patellar tendon, was utilized to elicit a signal in stretch receptors; however, to trigger the H-reflex, an electrical impulse was applied. These reflexes originate from an action potential produced by a sensory neuron when a stimulus is applied. Sensory neurons transmit the action potentials to an integrating center—the spinal cord—where a response is determined. Then, this response is taken back to the effector organ via motor neurons. The reflex occurs while the brain is becoming aware of the stimulus. Furthermore, the myotactic reflex is

A way to treat Wilson disease is with a lifelong amount of medication to reduce and control the amount of copper in the body. Treatment may include

Hepatolenticular Degeneration disease, also known as Wilson’s disease is classified as a rare autosomal recessive disease. The disease affects about 20,000 citizens in the United States between the ages of 3 and 26. Wilson’s disease is often confused with other diseases such as Liver disease. Often people with Wilson’s disease are diagnosed with Liver disease first before showing other signs causing doctors to continue testing and alter treatments.

Wilson’s disease is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, where copper is unable to be absorbed properly in the body and accumulates in tissue. This condition is known to have neurological and psychiatric symptoms, due to lesions associated with copper build up in the central nervous system, along with being associated with liver disease. It is related to a malfunction in the Wilson disease protein gene on the 13th chromosome; a copper-transporting P-type ATPase also known as ATP7B protein. I recently discovered that this disease runs in my family; both my mother and father are carriers, and unfortunately my sister is affected by Wilson’s Disease. I find this interesting because the disease is so abnormally rare that the gene

Spinal nerves have motor fibers and sensory fibers. The motor fibers innervate certain muscles, while the sensory fibers innervate certain areas of skin. A skin area innervated by the sensory fibers of a single nerve root is known as a dermatome. A group of muscles primarily innervated by the motor fibers of a single nerve root is known as a myotome. Myotomes are necessary for proper motor functioning; making it possible to bend the knee, straighten the elbow, flex fingers, and manipulate other muscle groups. Nerve fibers allowing for the sensation of touch or feeling pain to a corresponding sensory sector of the skin are dermatomes. These nerves originate from the spine and therefore can be useful in spinal injuries to evaluate the level of deficit. Pain, lack of sensation, or abnormal functioning of dermatomes can help pinpoint spinal nerve damage. Each myotome (muscle) and dermatome (region of skin) of the body is supplied by a particular level or section of the spinal cord and by its corresponding spinal nerve. There are eight cervical nerves, twelve thoracic nerves, five

This article seeks to define that diseases of the peripheral nerves can also produce symptoms similar to the motor neuron disease such as ALS. "Sensory disturbance due to involvement of the nerve fibres carrying sensory impulses is usually involve." Affected individuals are between ages 50 to 70 years of age and have upper and lower motor neuron weakness. Paralysis progresses rapidly, and death often occurs with three years of diagnosis.

When the neurons die, they produce something called dopamines. A dopamine is a neurotransmitter. They send messages to the brain that disrupts coordination and movement. The part of the brain that the neurons are affected is called the substantia nigra. The substantia nigra is in the brain stem, right above the spinal cord. These parts are essential to the functioning of the central nervous system. With the progression of this disease, the dopamine levels decrease, and the person is unable to control their movement . (http://www.pdf.org/about_pd)

The control group received only standard physical therapy treatments (stretching and strengthening exercises). There were three experimental groups. One group received estim to the intensity of stimulating only sensory nerves. The next group received estim with an intensity that minimally stimulated motor neurons. The final group received “full movement neuromuscular electric stimulation,” which was an estim intensity to the maximum tolerated intensity to receive maximum muscle movement. All three experimental groups also received standard PT interventions (stretching and strengthening exercises).

Rigidity in PD causes for stiff muscles and they often are resistant when attempting movement. One hypothesis for the clinical manifestation of rigidity in PD is that excitability within the long-loop reflex pathways produces the increase in muscle tone (Baradaran, 2013). Another theory includes contribution by the reticulospinal tracts. PD causes for incorrect control of interneurons to occur within the spinal pathways. This causes for IA interneurons to be increased and for IB interneurons to be diminished, this produces tonic facilitation in the stretch reflex, which in turn creates the rigidity (Santens, Boon Van Roost, & Caemaert,

The scientist I decided to write about is Edward Jenner who lived from 1749-1823. He was born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England (The Jenner Institute, 2015). His father was a preacher and died when Edward was five years old, orphaning Edward (Famous Scientists, 2015, Riedel, 2005). He went to school in Wotton-under-Edge and Cirencester (The Jenner Institute, 2015). While he was attending school, his older brother inoculated him for a disease called smallpox when he was only eight years (Adler, 2004, The Jenner Institute, 2015). When Jenner was 14 years old, he studied under a surgeon, Daniel Ludlow, for 7 years where he learned about surgical and medical practice (The Jenner Institute, 2015, Riedel, 2005). In the year 1770 at the age of

Since we know that movement is of utmost importance for the human species, it becomes of particular interest to scientists to study how movement is limited. Unfortunately, there are a large number of diseases that do exactly that. The most common ones include Parkinson’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Huntington’s Disease. These diseases all have a common overlap, in that each involve neurodegeneration, the eventual loss of neurons. One neurodegenerative disease that is of particular interest to me is the family known as Spinocerebellar ataxias, or SCAs. Spinocerebellar ataxia is characterized primarily by the “progressive loss of cerebellar neurons” (Wikipedia, 2014). There