Research On Parkinson's Disease

In her research, she found studies that showed a link between Parkinson’s disease and temporomandibular joint dysfunctions (TMJD), a disorder that she has had for awhile, and that treatment of TMJD could help alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Other research showed that with occlusal correction, 80%-100% of all symptoms of Parkinson’s could be eliminated. The next issue was figuring out if PD or TMJD were the cause her symptoms. She found that her suffering from vertigo, dizziness, ear pain, pain behind her eyes, and numerous headaches were all TMJ

J.N., a 65-year-old Caucasian female with a history of anxiety and depression, presents for diagnostic testing at Saint Mary Medical Center in Hobart, Indiana to confirm or deny a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, after presenting with recent onset of upper extremity tremor affecting both sides and facial masking. Patient history also includes bradykinesia, restlessness, fatigue, muscle weakness, and poor balance and coordination, all of which are common in a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. J.N. was referred to the Neurology Department of Saint Mary Medical Center after a routine appointment with her Cardiologist, who noted the recent onset of additional signs and symptoms. J.N. is my mother and my inspiration for this assignment.

Parkinson’s disease is a common disease facing many older people across the world. It affects the central nervous system and it impairs cognitive processes, motor skills and other functions. This disease mostly affects the older generation and it manifests itself with symptoms which include rigidity, tremor, postural instability, slowness in movement and others. Other symptoms include sleep difficulties, sensory and autonomic dysfunction. Parkinson’s disease has a high prevalence rate among older people with approximately 500,000 people suffering from the disease in the United States. In addition, there are approximately 1 million people who suffer from the disease but they have not been diagnosed yet (Oxtoby et. al.,

The main symptoms and signs of Parkinson’s are bradykinesia, rigidity and rest tremor. Parkinson’s is mainly seen as a movement disorder, but other areas of health problems are associated with it. These include depression and dementia along with autonomic disturbances and pain, although considered to be rare they can present at a later stage of the condition. These rarer symptoms, as they progress, can lead to substantial disability and handicap which harms quality of life for the person living with Parkinson’s, this also has an impact on families and carer’s.

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!

For many 50 year olds, tasks such as writing or walking can be easily preformed without much attention. In fact, the term “task” seems to stress that there is a greater level of effort than is truly exerted in order for the average person to perform these actions. However, for a patient of Parkinson’s Disease who is diagnosed on average at the age of 50, these every day activities take a great deal of time, attention, and effort to be preformed (Huston). With the growth of research about this disease, a variety of treatment options ranging from medication to surgery are currently available to patients who suffer from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s Disease.

Parkinson’s disease, a type of dementia also known as idiopathic or primary parkinsonism, paralysis agitans, or hypokinetic rigid syndrome/HRS, is on the rise in the U.S. Each year there are over 60,000 new cases in the U.S. alone. With the average person diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over the age of 65 and America’s rapidly growing elderly population, awareness and concern are becoming significant points of interest for many healthcare professionals.

The National Parkinson's Foundation estimates that each PD patient pays $2500 a year on medicines alone. When accounting for Social Security and nursing home payments, Parkinson's Disease costs over $5.6 billion annually to the nation (PD Web, 1998). Despite the high occurrence of Parkinson's, it is still not always recognized as a significant medical problem. The symptoms are often ignored in the elderly because they are thought to be part of the natural process of aging (PD Web, 1998). Symptoms include tremors in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; slowness of movement, or bradykinesia, and difficulties in balance and coordination. As the chronic disease progresses, PD patients may have difficulty with simple tasks, such as walking and talking (PD Web, 1998). Much of the oversight of PD in medical research, and of other neurodegnerative diseases associated with elderly populations, like Alzheimers, could be a reflection of a dismissive attitude towards the aging process in the medical community and American culture.

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,

In this study, “Group A received PT and medication therapy (MT) for 6 weeks, followed by MT only for the second 6 weeks. Group B received only MT for the first 6 weeks and PT and MT for the second 6 weeks(5)”. This study helps show how physical therapy can be applied to many different types of medical fields for any type of recovery. In the conclusion of the study, it stated, “People with Parkinson’s disease derive benefits in the short term from the physical therapy group treatment, in addition to their medical therapy, for quality of life related to mobility, long-term benefits were found in the study, and the total scores but varied between groups(5)”. In simpler terms the patients that received physical therapy and medical therapy at the same time opposed to those who only received the medical side showed much more improvement in the recovery and wellness process. Provided this, it is clear that physical therapy can and is playing a large part in many different medical

In “The effects of physical therapy in parkinson's disease”, De Goede, Samyra, Keus, Gert Kwakkel, & Wagenaar describes the effects of physical therapy towards patients with Parkinson’s disease. De Goede et al include both physical therapy approaches, and the medication used to help those with Parkinson’s. Physical therapy (PT) has a great impact for individuals struggling with PD. But the results of Physical therapy do not help a patient completely rid of the symptoms with PD.

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.

Management of the patient with Parkinson’s syndrome is directed towards controlling the symptoms with physical therapy and drug therapy. The most beneficial physical therapy programs incorporate massage, heat, exercise, and gait retraining. Speech therapy has been used with swallowing issues, as well as difficulty with speech with variable results. Drug therapy relieves many of the symptoms of the disease. Early in the course of disease, dopamine receptor agonist pramipexole(mirapex) or ropinirole (reqip) are used to maximize the intrinsic dopamine. The corner stone of therapy is the use of L-dopa (l-dihydroxyphenylalanine). L-dopa can cross the blood-brain barrier and is converted to dopamine in the basal ganglia, thereby supplementing levels

Parkinson's disease affects movements controlled by the Nervous system. During this life changing disease a patient might have tremors in their hands, stiffness, or even slurred speech. A cure has not been found but certain medications can help control the symptoms for a more comfortable life. The Emory University School of medicine paid close attention to a few subjects who all had Parkinson's disease. The common found factor in each of these patients was their low vitamin D levels even when compared with other nervous diseases like Alzheimer’s. Three hundred total people were used to conduct this research with one hundred having Parkinson's disease, one hundred having Alzheimer's disease, and one hundred healthy individuals. Twenty three

Parkinson 's is a very complex subject since there is still no cure and heredity still can 't be proven. As a CNA you are expected to know that there are different diseases with different needs. Parkinson 's has many signs and symptoms. If tremors are noticeable it is best to get a check up, but just because you show signs it is no reason to self diagnose. Before Parkinson 's begins you can always try to prevent it. Who knew caffeine could prevent Parkinson 's. Although Parkinson 's can be prevented, there are still some things that make you more prone to getting Parkinson 's. Some things include age and heredity. Science is always changing and you never know what things can be invented to stop Parkinson 's or maybe even reverse