Parkinson's Disease Essay

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.

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

Although the etiology of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) is unknown, it is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) of ventral midbrain region [9]; [1]. Its prevalence is associated with age. Approximately 1% of the population is affected at 65–70 years of age, which increases to 4–5% in 85-year-olds [2]. Various epidemiological studies and pathological analyses have demonstrated that mean age of onset in sporadic PD, which accounts for about 95% of cases of Parkinsonism is 70 years [7]; [3]. Familial form of Parkinson’s disease is linked to genetic mutations and has prevalence rate of 4%. Familial Parkinson’s disease patients develop early-onset disease before the age of 50

Parkinson Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease symptomized by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow imprecise movements. Typically, the disease affects middle-aged and elderly individuals. PD is associated with degeneration of the basal ganglia of the brain causing a deficiency of the neurotransmission of dopamine.

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:

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 (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.

The question may arise, what exactly is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s disease is a progressive degenerative neurological disorder, which means that it gets worse over time. PD is more common with increasing age affecting 1% of the population above 55, with 4-10% of cases having early onset before the age of 40 (XXXX). The average age of onset ranges between 58-62 years old and is more common in men than women. The disease itself is defined by the presence of lewy bodies in neurons and a loss of dopamine. Degenerative changes to the basal ganglia affect the nerve cells in the substantia niagra that produce dopamine. This results in a decrease in the production of dopamine that is getting to the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved with regulating movement making early signs of PD primarily motor impairments and progression of this disease can range from

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 disease is a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system, specifically the movement. The most common and most notable symptom is the tremor. The tremor is often found in the arm or hand. Symptoms of Parkinson’s have appeared throughout history. In India, as early as 5000 B.C. certain symptoms of Parkinson’s have showed up. Scientists and researchers

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,

What is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s is a progressive condition by a loss of never cells in the brain known as neurodegeneration. The cause of neuronal loss in Parkinson’s is still unknown. However, the symptoms can still be explained by the loss of cells that contain neurotransmitter called dopamine. Dopamine is a type of chemical that nerve cells release to communicate with other nerve cells. It is just not responsible for doing that, dopamine has many other functions it must do including important roles in behavior, voluntary movement, motivation, sleep, mood, attention, working memory, and learning. So, in Parkinson’s the neurons that produce dopamine slowly start dying. When dopamine levels get, lower this will cause an imbalance with the other neurotransmitters and will result with confusing both motor and non-motor symptoms which will get worse overtime. (Sethi 2002) Parkinson’s is a really known disease as Alzheimer’s it is said that there is an estimated number of up to 1.5 million Americans suffering from the disorder at any given time. (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015)

Charcot examined a large group of patients within Salpetriere Hospital in Paris, he had developed a way to observe tremors in action and at rest. “He noted that the patients with action tremor had accompanying features of weakness, spasticity, and visual disturbance. In contrast, those with rest tremor differed in having rigidity, slowed movements, a typical hunched posture, and very soft spoken.” (Goetz 2011) Charcot early tremor studies helped to establish Parkinson’s Disease through his very high publicized findings that neurological entity could be confidently be diagnosed. In 1957 a Swedish scientist Arvid Carlsson found out that dopamine in the brain region that is important for movement control. He showed that the levels of dopamine can be reduced in animals to cause symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease and also by giving the animals levodopa (L-dopa) to reverse the symptoms of PD. PD is second most common neurodegenerative after Alzheimer’s Disease and the most common movement disorder. Over 60,000 people here in the United States are diagnosed every year but they say the numbers can be much higher with undiagnosed people out there but over one million people live with Parkinson daily.10 million people worldwide live with Parkinson’s Disease and April 11th is World Parkinson’s Day. On April 11th, 2017 marked 200 years since James Parkinson publicized his essay.

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,

Parkinson disease (PD) and related disorders (PRD) are conditions that influence elderly individuals with most extreme pervasiveness and occurrence rates inside of the age group of 75–85 years. Presence of several other co morbidities associated can eventually affect on the independence and also the life quality (Margarita et al, 2010). Parkinsonism is also a very common disease condition in the elderly population, especially the elderly with associated dementia (Friedman et al, 2004). Parkinsonism is neurologic progressive disorder which is induced by dopamine generating neurons loss in the substantia nigra of the brain (Schapira et al, 2010). The reduced level of dopamine produces a wide range of motor symptoms like the resting tremor, slow movement of the limbs, muscle rigidity and mask like expressions on the face also known as hypomimia (Cotton and Hesters, 2012). Parkinsonism is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative condition (Nolden, , Tartavoulle & Porche, 2014). In addition to these characteristic motor symptoms it will also be accompanied by cognitive problems, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal problems and also mood disorders (Lindahl and MacMahon, 2012). A qualified Nurse can help such a resident/ patient to manage their illness by making certain changes in the prescription whenever necessary, by monitoring their condition and also by bringing issues to light about Parkinsonism and its care.