Parkinson's Coming Home

Neurology is one of the most unexplored fields in medicine; however, more recently there has been a spike in the amount of research being done in this specialty. This is because people are becoming more interested in neuroscience, including myself. I attended a pre-medical vocational high school, which exposed me to a greater amount of knowledge pertaining to the basics of anatomy and physiology, along with hands-on opportunities in a medical setting. It was here where I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine; however, due to the fact medical field is very broad, I had no set specialty. This changed when I was exposed to the cruel manifestations of Parkinson’s Disease. During, sophomore year of high school, my grandfather passed away due to complications of Parkinson’s Disease. The way that a neurodegenerative disease was able to overtake a person in the manner that it did was shocking, and while it brought me great grief initially, it later intrigued me. I took up an interest in neuroscience and began to do my own research which culminated in various projects and applications throughout the remainder of my time in high school. These experiences have culminated in my decision to work toward a Cell Biology and

James Parkinson first discovered Parkinson's Disease in 1817. Parkinson's Disease is a common neurologic disorder for the elderly. It is a disorder of the brain characterized by shaking and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. This disease is associated with damage to a part of the brain that controls muscle movement. Parkinson's Disease is a chronic illness that is still being extensively studied.

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,

The World Health Organization projects that, by 2040, neurodegenerative diseases will become more common than cancer (Cashell, 2014). Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is widely listed as the second most common neurodegenerative disease (Wuong, 2012; Gillies et al., 2014; Cashell, 2014; Walker, Davidson, & Gray, 2012). This disease, usually characterized by a tremor, but featuring systemic effects, has been diagnosed in one to two percent of people over age 65 (Casey, 2013). Parkinson’s disease is incurable; the goal of the healthcare team is to help the patient to maintain function, independence and quality of life (Miertová et al., 2014; Magennis, Lynch, & Corry, 2014). In the discussion that follows, current understanding of the causes and treatment of PD will be summarized, along with examples of nursing interventions.

He reported difficulty taking care of his personal hygiene and grooming, had mobility limitations, and problems using his right hand. He had difficulty with memory, concentration, completing tasks, and getting along with people. He had difficulty sleeping because of pain and mental issues. He was unable to do house chores. He lived with his family in a small trailer on his parent’s property; his mother and older brother took care of him. He did not like crowds, interacted mostly with his relatives.

The article “Living with Parkinson’s and Looking for Relief”, written by Carla Gantz, was found in RDH magazine as a feature in the February 2013 volume on pages 34,36,38, and 95. It is about a dental hygienist, Carla Gantz, who develops Parkinson’s disease while still in practice, and the various ways she copes with the disease. Gantz had Parkinson’s disease that was only on her right side, hand, arm, and shoulder, classifying her as stage 1 Parkinson’s disease. She started off taking low doses of levodopa to help with her tremors, but as the disease progressed, the medications changed, and the doses increased. Her role as a dental hygienist was also affected as her disease progressed. She couldn’t administer local anesthesia, her manual dexterity with instruments became more difficult, and when polishing or scaling, her hand would come to a halt, a secondary motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease. She should break this “freeze” by allowing her left arm to lift up her right arm, but that only worked for so long. Five years after being diagnosed, Gantz had to give up her career because her tremors got worse and her medication increased; she was taking up to thirteen pills per day.

While attending the Parkinson’s Support Group, I observed and took note of many occurrences throughout the group. There were 18 caregivers/individuals with Parkinson’s in attendance, along with 3 students, the director, and the group leader (a counseling student intern). Each individual diagnosed with Parkinson’s, except for two, was accompanied by their spouse/caregiver. Members of this group sat around a rectangle table with the group leader at the front. The purpose of the group, on that particular day, was to discuss challenges that individuals with Parkinson’s and or caregivers face, activities and ways to cope, and some positive gains after the disability. The type of group that was ran was a support group, as compared to having guest speakers as usual. The Parkinson’s group was open to the

Parkinson's disease affects the way you move. It happens when there is a problem with certain nerve cells in the brain. Normally, these nerve cells make an important chemical called dopamine. Dopamine sends signals to the part of your brain that controls movement. Some conspiracy theories makes us happy by creating a picture where hitler was finally reduced to a trembling, almost rigid person with the mood swings of a woman at her worst PMS, shambling through a burnt, destroyed, and pillaged Nazi regime because he was inflicted by parkinson's disease in the final days of his life. Although it is rumored that hitler really had this disease. It was highly unlikely that he died from it due to the fact that parkinson's disease does not kill by

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.

While aging does not harm a person Its effects can devastate families, children, and acquaintances. 3 of the most well-known effects of Aging Are Parkinson's, alzheimers, and dementia. Well both diseases can take a toll on a person, they each take a different part of a person. Parkinson's effects the inner workings of the brain causing tremors And cannot be cured. Dementia is a disease that eats away at a senior citizens memory, many elderly patients have died due to the fact they forgot how to swallow and choke on their own saliva. Dementia is also linked to forgetfulness in senior citizens because it does interfere with daily living and functionality in their daily lives. Well all three diseases are very different they all do

In February, my mother stepped out of the bathtub after bathing and caught her toenail in between the grout line of the tile, causing the nail to rip. Her toe nails are long and extremely hard to trim due to her diabetes. My mother didn’t feel the pain from this incident because of the numbness caused by the Parkinson’s disease. It was until she saw blood coming from her toe that my mother went to the hospital emergency room to seek help. During her visit to the hospital, my mother received 5 stitches and was told that her toe was fractured. My mother returned home only to find that her toe was completely infected from improper healing a few days

Parkinson’s Disease is a long-term progressive neurodegenerative disease consisting of motor system impairment, neuropsychiatric, and nonmotor features. The disease is characterized by the following key clinical features: bradykinesia, resting tremor, postural instability, and rigidity. These symptoms are due to the diminishing of dopamine in the nigrostriatal pathway and substantia nigra, which causes inhibition of the thalamus decreasing excitatory input to the motor cortex.1 Along with the key manifestations an individual with Parkinson’s Disease will experience problems associated with the disease or the antiparkinson medications. These co-occurring problems are hallucinations, dementia, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, depression, and pyschosis.2 Psychosis is a common problem in Parkinson’s Disease, and is characterized by paranoid delusions and hallucinations that are visual in nature.2 Risk factors for psychosis consists of advancing age, dementia, sleep disorders, and high doses of antiparkinson drugs.1

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-like pathologies are found in different organisms. However, the pathology do not necessarily result in Parkinson’s-like symptoms. In horses, dysfunction of the pituitary pars intermedia due to the loss of dopaminergic neurons within the hypothalamus is a characteristic of Cushing’s disease (Spelta, 2015). Currently, it is hypothesized that with age, oxidation within the hypothalamus causes the loss of dopaminergic neurons. In equine Cushing’s disease, proopiomelanocortin peptides (POMC), such as acetylcholine (ACTH), α-melanocyte-stimulation hormone (α-MSH), and ß-endorphin, are mass-produced due to the lack of dopamine inhibiting melanotrope cells of the pars intermedia within the pituitary gland (Toribio, 2012). With