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Parkinson's Disease Substantia

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It was about 10-15 years ago when my mother started noticing my grandfather was not remembering things, he was 67 years old. They really noticed it was more than just old age when he went on a plane and felt disoriented for a long time afterwards. It got progressively worse when he started exhibiting the classical motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease as outlined by Dr. Werner Poewe in his paper about PS, "Diagnosis and Management of Parkinson's Disease Dementia”. His body became rigid, could not maintain his balance, and he had a hard time walking. Soon after the motor issues began, the mental symptoms followed as it became hard for him to interact with people and he began to withdraw socially (Poewe).
Patients who are suspected of having …show more content…

The pathology behind PDD is a dopaminergic neuronal loss in the substantia nigra and the presence of Lewy bodies made up of α-synuclein in the cell bodies and processes of the neurons that are left over (Rongve, Dauer). The dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra are being lost or inhibited by the production of the misfolded proteins resulting in the lewy bodies. The neurons of the substantia nigra are thought to make up the nigrostriatal pathway, thus their destruction would result in loss of dopamine up to the striatum, made up of the caudate nucleus and putamen. This loss of sufficient dopamine to the striatum of the basal ganglia is what is causing most of the motor movement symptoms seen in PD patients (Dauer). My grandpa used to be a police officer, and I have always perceived him as this big tough guy who could take on anything. After he got older and his PD developed, his movements got much slower and I saw him become this timid man who was unsure …show more content…

Rongve notes, “…there are currently no data suggesting that the course or treatment of dementia with Lewy bodies differs from that of PDD, and thus the distinction between dementia with Lewy bodies and PDD is not of major clinical importance”. This has to do with the fact that Parkinson’s disease, Parkinson’s disease dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies all have pathology that involves neuronal loss and inclusion bodies comprised of alpha-synuclein, also known as Lewy bodies (Rongve). Since the disease state of the patient has very similar and overlapping pathologies, the treatment of these diseases will also be comparable and overlap. It has been shown that physical exercise can increase blood flow to the brain and aid in improved cognitive function, along with helping in motor function, balance and muscle strength (Aarsland). The increase in cognition may be due to the increased blood flow to the cerebrum, resulting in increased function of the neurons, and aid in neurogenesis, which will also have an effect on the cerebral and cerebellar tissues involved in motor function, balance, and muscle tone. One of the causes of PD is the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, so patients are given cholinesterase inhibitors such as rivastigmine (Poewe). With the destruction of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, the goal is to extend the action of

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