Parkinson's Disease Essay

Parkinson 's disease, like Alzheimer’s is more common in later ages but is affecting youth and young adults. It is the second most common neurological degenerative disorder, and has been found to affect 6 million people worldwide. The disease is a progressive motor syndrome that impairs the heart, muscles, and central nervous system. Intracellular inclusions, Lewy bodies, and dopaminergic neuronal loss effect Parkinson’s disease. In 5–10% of Parkinson’s cases, they are familial and transmitted in either an autosomal-dominant or an autosomal-recessive fashion. (Gandhi, 2010)

The cause of the degeneration of cells within the substantia nigra is unknown and therefore no cure exists for the disease. Extensive research is being conducted in an attempt to determine the cause and find a cure for Parkinson’s. A

Parkinson Disease’s (PD) is defined as progressive loss of pigmented neurons or cells in the substantia nigra of the brain. These cells manufacture the molecule dopamine, a chemical responsible for regulating purposeful movements. Moreover, when the dopamine level in the brain depletes by 80 percent, the patient will begin experiencing symptoms of PD. Genetics also play a vital role in Parkinson’s development--mutations in the Leucine-Repeat Kinase 2 are its greatest contributors. Furthermore, dopamine levels progressively drop in patients with the disease; therefore, their symptoms gradually become severe as they age. Parkinson’s symptoms are categorized into primary, secondary, motor, and nonmotor. (Fallon & Cataldo, 2013)

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive disorder of unknown etiology that has no cure. It is characterized by bradykinesia, rest tremor, cogwheel rigidity and postural instability, along with a number of non-motor signs. The neurochemical hallmark of PD is dopamine loss in the nigrostriatal dopamine system (Adler, 2011). In the substantia nigra (SN) of people with PD there is a loss of neuronal cells, demonstrated by the degeneration of brainstem nuclei (Brooks, 1998). This typically shows as Lewy bodies – spherical masses of protein that develop inside nerve cells. However the progression of neuronal loss is quite variable in different PD patients and at different phases of the disease. At present there is no treatment that affects the degeneration, for example by slowing the rate of cell death or by protecting neurons.

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

The genetic factors that may cause Parkinson’s disease are gene mutations, more specifically mutation of the SYN (A30P and A53T) and PTEN induced kinase 1, also known as PINK1. Mutations in these genes have been shown to lead to the onset of Parkinson’s disease. Genetic factors represent a minimal number of the cause of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Research has shown that patients who experienced traumatic brain injuries are at an increased risk for developing neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (Acosta, Tajiri, De la Pena, Bastawrous, Sanberg, Kaneko, & Borlongan, 2015). The brains of patients who experienced TBI have shown two major similarities to Parkinson’s patients, the “progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, and the overexpression and inclusion of a-synuclein as Lewy bodies in the substantia nigra (SN) of the brain” (Acosta et al, 2015, p.1024). Studies to determine the environmental factors that may cause Parkinson’s disease have mostly been inconclusive, however many researchers have focused on “pesticide exposure and water-borne risk factors” (Shafique et al, 2011, p.5). In many cases of Parkinson’s disease, it is idiopathic, meaning that there is no apparent

Treatment options for Parkinson's have showed little success but not a cure for the disease. Dopamine has been tried as a supplement injection in patients and has showed not to cross from the blood to brain tissue easily. It can only be made in the tissues. A man made compound of the dopamine chemical, though, has been found to give some relief to patients for the muscles rigidity The chemical is

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic brain disorder that limits mobility in patients that are diagnosed with it. Information about the disease was first published in Western medicine in 175 AD, although evidence of it it has been seen since earlier ancient times. Since then, much has been learned about the disease. In the 1960s, the differences in chemicals in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients were first identified. Researchers now believe that Parkinson’s is caused by the gradual breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. The degeneration of these cells leads to a lack of dopamine in the brain, which makes nerve functioning more difficult as it is harder for the brain to coordinate muscle movement. The gradual breakdown of neurons causes the symptoms of Parkinson’s to worsen as the patient gets older. Since the 1960s, research on Parkinson’s has been ongoing but not yet conclusive.

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,

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).

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 (from hereon PD) is an extrapyramidal disorder characterized primarily by massive idiopathic degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, resulting in greatly decreased levels of dopamine in the striatum. The diagnosis, which is essentially a clinical judgment due to the lack, thus far of a simple diagnostic test, has historically been on the basis of the presence of at least two of the three main features of PD: bradykinesia (or akinesia or hypokinesia), rigidity, and resting tremor. In addition to these symptoms, most PD patients also show postural disturbances, impaired righting reflexes, and abnormal ocular movements. The extent of the disease and its symptoms can be quantified by one of a few

It’s constantly increasing rate of spread and prevalence continues to extend over society. This therefore calls for the need for more comprehensive and clearer approaches both preventive and curative, in curbing the severity of the disease. It is important to therefore understand the disease in terms of epidemiology, ages, transmission, genetics and populations affected. This research will therefore delve into highlighting the normal functions of organs and further detail the weaknesses in the tissues structures that make the tissues vulnerable to the disease. The research will also broaden our knowledge on the cellular and chemical changes to the primary and secondary systems and organs affected by Parkinson disease. By including diagnostic methods and criteria, this research will demonstrate scientific understanding of the psychosocial effects of the disease on other organs. Lastly, it shall seek to explain medical interventions that can help alleviate the problem, severity and prognosis for recovery. Both beneficial and adverse effects of all medical interventions shall also be discussed (Weiner et al,

Parkinson’s Disease is a multifactorial disease which means it does not have one specific disease. Multifactorial diseases, such as Parkinson’s Disease, are caused by both genetic and environmental causes. PD is known to be linked to “a deficiency of dopamine neurons.” Scientists know that the cause of Parkinson's Disease is due to the death of dopamine cells in the substantia nigra and basal ganglia;(Abromovitz 28-30) however, no one is sure what causes these neurons to die.

Indisputable evidence has proven that oxidative stress and radical oxygen system is one of the major factors that contributes to neuronal loss in several neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson disease. Despite the advances in medical sciences and several studies which have centered on understanding the pathogenesis and mechanism involved in Parkinson disease, not much research in understanding the intricacy of the pathophysiology of the