Parkinson 's Disease And Its Effects On The Quality Of Life

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), 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 central Nervous system and affects both motor and nonmotor functions. parkinson 's is caused by a chemical imbalance within the brain. The brain produces a neurotransmitter called dopamine in the basal ganglia, which is structures linked to the thalamus in the base of the brain. If the Dopamine, Basal ganglia and Thalamus does not function properly then causes major damage,. A person having less and less dopamine, the individual has less and less ability to regulate their movements, body and emotions. Although there is no current cure available for Parkinson’s disease, the debilitating conditions can be lessoned through education, therapy, and a variety of treatments to improve their quality of life on the National Parkinson Foundation website.

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:

This journal article discusses the history of Parkinson’s disease. An overview of the how Parkinson’s disease was discovered is provided. The overview of the history includes reference to James Parkinson’s essay which was the first to document the symptoms of Parkinson’s as well as how Parkinson’s was differentiated from other neurological disorders. Symptoms, the evolution of treatment options, including pharmacopeia, surgery, as well as placebo therapy. Multiple historical documents are referenced to provide the history of Parkinson’s disease.

“Parkinson’s Disease, or PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is caused by degeneration and dysfunction of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra.” (Corrow, 2013). Although that is the specific definition of Parkinson’s Disease, not all people might understand those terms. When educating patients, it’s important to assess their education level and provide information easily understandable to them. To provide simpler terms, “Parkinson’s is a disease that involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, typically the basal ganglia within the cerebrum.” (Parkinson Disease Foundation, Inc. 2016). “Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a

Parkinson’s is the second most common neurological disease after Alzheimer’s. It is an incurable, chronic progressive disease. Parkinson’s disease is not life threatening, but, it does have a profound effect on the quality of life (Magennis & Corry 2013). Parkinson’s disease is caused by a loss of Dopamine that affects two main brain structures, the substantia nigra pars compacta and basal ganglia deep in the central hemisphere. Low levels of

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that is classified as a movement disorder (Pinel, 2013). Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disease, meaning it does more damage over time. Many people may believe that Parkinson’s is an uncommon disease, however it affects as much as 1 percentage of the population over the age of 60 (Shafique, Blagrove, Chung, & Logendrarajah, 2011). Surprisingly, men are two and a half times more likely to develop Parkinson’s over women (Pinel, 2013). Parkinson’s is a disease that dramatically impacts those who suffer from it. Parkinson’s disease affects every part of a patient’s life, including personal and professional, health, and all matters pertaining to the quality of life. While

Have you ever wondered if there is a solution to Parkinson’s Disease? Well, being a Physical Therapist Tech, I work with a couple of individuals who have Parkinson’s. With this position I’m allowed to participate in the strengthening of those struggling with this disease. My patients with Parkinson’s have seemed to improve from their continuous therapy sessions. In each session, the patient and the therapist or tech works to help them with his or her condition. We work on the patient’s balance, stiffness, rigidness, and tremors. There are more involuntary movements but those are a few. Parkinson’s Disease (PD) can be improved with the help of physical activity and simulating activities. This disease is found in those mostly over the age of

Parkinson’s disease is a nervous system disorder that affects movement, speech, and other brain function due to insufficient amounts of dopamine release. It is currently incurable, however there are some treatments that can be given to a patient depending on their symptoms and how severe they are. These treatments are administered to Parkinson’s disease patients with the goal of controlling symptoms and minimizing their affects for as long as possible as the disease progresses. Parkinson’s disease is still being researched however, and many treatments are considered experimental. Current treatments that are being administered include dopamine drugs, speech and physical therapy, and in more severe cases, deep brain stimulating surgery. Moreover,

    Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and possessive moving disorder that causes malfunctions and death of vital neurons in the brain (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 2017). It is a severe disease that affects many americans. Risk factors include age and gender. More often than most, older men of over the age 60 are the target for Parkinson’s. Symptoms include tremors, slowness in movement, muscle stiffness, and more severely the inability to walk. Treatments include medications, therapy, and surgery while depending on the factor of how severe the Parkinson’s case is.  Parkinson’s disease varies in five stages, one being the less severe symptoms and case of treatments .

A patient takes a variety of medications, at diverse doses and times of the day, to reduce his or her symptoms. While the drug treatment of choice depends on the signs and symptoms experienced by the patient, common drug classes used to treat Parkinson’s patients include: Carbidopa/Levodeopa therapy, dopamine agonists (Apomorphine), anticholinergics, MAO inhibitors, and COMT inhibitors. Currently, the Carbidopa/levodopa is believed to be the most effective drug therapy for treating Parkinson’s patients. Although traditional Parkinson’s oral medication has been proven to work to a degree, researchers have found limitations to their effectiveness. Researchers found that after approximately five years of receiving oral medication treatment, complications arose in a majority of the patients. Complications, that patients experienced after five years of treatment, included: dyskinesia, “on-off’ fluctuations, a return of limited mobility and tremors, and a loss of prior benefits (Okun, 2012). It appears that the patients acquired a tolerance to the medication, while lead to a return of the patient’s prior motor and nonmotor Parkinson’s symptoms. In fact, gait, balance, and cognitive symptoms become increasingly resistant to the traditional Parkinson’s oral medication options (Okun, 2012). With the return of previously reduced motor and nonmotor symptoms, it rests

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common, slow, progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder which is around 1.5 times more common in men than in women affects more than one million Americans. Symptoms include tremor, rigidity, postural instability and slowed movement inanition to these motor symptoms patients experience non motor symptoms such as sleep disturbance, depression, psychosis and dementia. Usually affects old generation, cause is unknown, disorder cause degeneration of the dopamine producing neurons in the brains striatum, dopamine depletion decreases leads to degeneration of basal ganglia.

Parkinson's disease (PD) was first described on 1817 by James Parkinson (Dauer & Przedborski, 2003). PD is a progressive neuromuscular disorder. It has an average age of onset of about 55 years of age. The lifetime prevalence rate is about 0.15 percent, but the incidence of PD increases as people get older (American Psychiatric Association, 2004). The vast majority of PD cases are labeled as "sporadic Parkinson's disease" (cause unknown) but about five percent of PD cases are inherited (Dauer & Przedborski, 2003). Secondary Parkinsonism exists and is often a result of some drug (typically dopamine antagonists), hypoxia, or a brain tumor.

We now know that Parkinson’s Disease is a neurological disorder that affects an area of the midbrain called the substantia nigra, which houses the body’s dopamine neurons and receptors. Worldwide, around ten million people suffer from Parkinson’s Disease, with one million of those people living in the United State’s alone. Each year, there are 60,000 new cases that are diagnosed, with an unknown number of cases that never get diagnosed.