Introduction
Parkinson’s disease is a highly pathological disease dated back for thousands of years. It is the most common movement disorder in our current society and the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Parkinson’s disease was first studied by James Parkinson in 1817, which resulted in the identification of the common symptoms of the disease. (Parkinson’s Disease Information, 2014) This disease is characterized by a progressive loss of muscle control. This loss of muscle control leads to other complications such as trembling of the limbs and head when at rest. (Board, 2013) Parkinson’s disease is very common around the world, affecting about 5 million people total, while the prevalence rate in the United States is about
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(Checkoway, 2007) Parkinson’s disease is difficult to diagnose and many have been misdiagnosed as well. A neurologist who specializes in movement disorders would be the most adept person in making a correct diagnosis through many evaluation techniques. Some techniques to diagnose Parkinson’s include physical examinations, verbal surveys indicating any new medications or environmental exposures and various mental tests. (Clark, 2007)
Pathophysiology
Although Parkinson’s disease is a common neurological disease and researcher learn more and more about it each day, the disease is still considered largely idiopathic or of unknown cause. Although this is the case, it is widely known that Parkinson’s onset is due to the significant lack of a neurotransmitter named dopamine. (Clark, 2007) Dopamine is a substance that acts as a messenger between the corpus striatum and substania nigra to produce controlled and smooth movements. Most individuals who suffer from Parkinson’s show an immense lack of this substance, which explains the deteriorated control of movement. When there is a huge lack of dopamine or the amount is too low, the signals and communications between the substantia nigra and corpus striatum become inefficient, resulting in an impartment of ability to make smooth and controlled movements. The lower the levels of dopamine, the more symptoms begin to manifest. (Board, 2013) In addition
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.
Many may not know Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world. This disease is most seen in the elderly starting at 62 years of age although, younger individuals can still have the disease it isn’t common. Parkinson’s make it difficult for its victims to carry out everyday activities that might have once been easy for them. As the disease progresses it makes it hard for the patient to do things like walk, stand, swallow and speak. A great deal of people don’t realize how helpful therapy can be when dealing with such disease!
The National Parkinson Foundation located on the website www.parkinson.org, was designed to help people who are affected by parkinson’s disease and to be more aware of the disease through education, treatment options and expert care research. The mission of the non-profit organization states “We make life better for people with Parkinson 's through expert care and research. Everything we do helps people actively enjoy life with their friends, families, children and grandchildren until there is a tomorrow without Parkinson 's” (National Parkinson Foundation). The National Parkinson Foundation targeted audiences includes people who suffer from
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
As a neurodegenerative brain disorder, Parkinson’s disease affects the neurons in the human brain. This disease affects everyone differently. However, there are common symptoms that all patients with Parkinson’s experience. At this time, there is no cure for the disease, but there are several ways to improve the quality of life. Although research is never complete, there is a lot of information on Parkinson’s disease that individuals should know.
Muhamad Ali, Michael J. Fox, and Linda Ronstadt are just a few celebrities that have been diagnosed with a disease called Parkinson’s. Most people have heard the name of this disease but do not exactly know what it is. Although it is not well known, it is a very common neurodegenerative disease. Much of the information about Parkinson’s is not prominent, although the disease is the second most common of its kind, next to Alzheimer’s (Surguchov, 2013, p.116). The disease can be debilitating if not treated properly. Because PD is such a real issue, efforts to research its cause and treatment have been extensive and continue to be. Only one medication known to ease the suffering of its victims has been found effective thus far (Surguchov,
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’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world. Since an increasing number of people are reaching a high age, it is predicted that also the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease will be higher in the future. The symptoms of the disease are both motor symptoms like tremor and impairment of the gait, but along with that, psychological symptoms and memory loss are evident in many cases.
One of the most commonly seen neurological disorders is Parkinson’s disease (PD). Named after the doctor who first identified the disease as “the shaking palsy” Dr James Parkinson (1755-1824), Parkinson’s disease affects over 1 million Americans today. On average around 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease annually. This is an alarming number of new cases but what is even more startling is the fact that thousands of cases go undetected each year as well. PD is a clinical diagnosis with no definitive diagnostic test to identify the disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration and cell loss of the substantia nigra, which causes disturbances of voluntary motor control [5]. It impairs ones ability to produce movements and is commonly associated with difficulties of daily living. Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects approximately 1.5% to 2.0% of the population over the age of sixty years old [2] and “… it is estimated that 6 million individuals worldwide are currently living with PD,” [7] (pg323). Parkinson’s sufferers often experience physical distress and an altered quality of life.
Parkinson’s is a disease where patients do not have enough dopamine, because some of their nerve cells have died in the brain. Dopamine controls the movement in the body, and without it movement becomes slow. Treatments for Parkinson’s are used to control the symptoms. This disease is not well known because patients do not generally die from Parkinson’s. As Parkinson’s progresses the symptoms get worse and can cause other health issues. I used current research papers and information found pertaining to different Parkinson’s organizations to argue the point that Parkinson’s does not have enough awareness and funding for scientists to find a cure.
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 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
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 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,