The Effects Of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's Disease is a literally crippling neurodegenerative disorder, manifested in about 1% of the aged population. People who have Parkinson's Disease gradually lose control of their movements; specific symptoms include, "tremor, slowness of movement, stiffness, difficulty in walking, and loss of balance." (1) Evidence strongly suggests that Parkinson's Disease is the result of severe cell loss in the substantia nigra. This brain structure is principally involved in the production of dopamine. (2) Dopamine, among other functions, is the neurotransmitter involved in initiation of movement. Hence, the link between dopaminergic cell loss and cessation of voluntary movement, as manifested

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,

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition which can affect talking, writing, swallowing, walking and memory.

Parkinson’s disease is caused by the destruction of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the midbrain (Substantia nigra). These nerve cells are used to coordinate smooth and regular body movement. In the absence of these cells, people often experience tremors (involuntary shaking or

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.

What exactly is Parkinson’s? Known commonly as a movement disorder. It affects movement, muscle control, and balance. “It is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease, and the second most prevalent and disabling condition in the expanding elderly population” (Mikkelsen,Stinson, 2011, pg xix). For those that aren’t aware what neurodegenerative means it’s simply the loss of nerve cells. Nerve cells which are also known as neurons are located in the nervous system. Neurons are broken down into three different types. They are sensory (receptor), motor (effector), and interneurons (connector). Each one of these neurons plays a different role in the nervous system. The purpose of neurons is to receive incoming information and in return send signals to other neurons, muscles or glands. Neurons are made up of three parts. First the cell body which controls the neuron

Parkinson's disease is a progressive degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that affects the motor system. It is marked by tremor at rest, muscular rigidity, postural instability, and slow, imprecise movement. The most obvious symptoms are movement related, which include; shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, difficult with walking, balance, and gait. Other motor symptoms include: posture disturbances, such as a decrease in arm swing, a forward flexed posture, and the use of small steps when walking. Speech and swallowing disturbances are also common motor problems that can appear as well to a patient with Parkinson's disease. Young adults rarely experience Parkinson's disease because it is more common to affect

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’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 (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:

Another effect of Parkinson's disease is the trembling of their legs. People that have the disease can't walk good because their legs are constantly shaking. Their legs shake so uncontrollably that they have to use a wheelchair to get around everywhere they go and they can't move it by themselves because they aren't able to move their arms and legs without shaking uncontrollably. If someone with Parkinson's tries to walk they don't have any balance so they would just fall right over. We need your help to find a cure a help these innocent people out to have a normal life

Parkinson’s disease is a disease that affects the way a person moves. Movement for a parkinson’s sufferer can be slow and shaky. There are different types of parkinson’s, multiple system atrophy (MSA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP),normal pressure hydrocephalus and tremors including essential tremors, dystonic tremors, indeterminate tremors and atypical tremors. These tremors are all part of this disease and affect all patients in different ways.

Symptom severity varies person-to-person and early signs sometimes go unnoticed. Usually the symptoms will begin unilaterally and eventually progress to both sides, with the original side remaining worse (Tagliati, 2007). People with PD also have a slumped posture with an abnormally slow gait with shuffling feet. They also may suffer from an issue called freezing. Freezing causes the person to be frozen in place involuntarily for a moment (National Parkinson’s Foundation). Because Parkinson’s causes bradykinesia, or slowing in motion, everyday task take more energy and time to complete. Tasks that seem simple to the healthy individual like getting out of bed is an accomplishment to those suffering with this disease.

This disease affects the nerve cells in the basal ganglia and substantia nigra. Nerve cells in the substantia nigra produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter, and are responsible for relaying messages that control body movement. The dopamine-producing nerve cells of the substantia nigra begin to diminish. When eighty percent of dopamine is lost, symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as tremor and stiffness, begin to appear.

There are basic signs and symptoms, and they are as follows: tremor, shaking of the limb or hand, slowed movement, Parkinson’s disease may reduce the ability to move and slow down movement, rigid muscles, when the muscles becomes very stiff, impaired posture and balance, a person’s posture may become stooped or a person may have trouble balancing, loss of automatic movements, may have a decreased ability to perform unconscious movements, speech changes, speech may become monotone, and writing changes, writing may become smaller or it becomes hard to write. The decease rate of Parkinson’s disease varies in race. African-Americans had the highest crude death rate (66.4%), followed by whites (64.6%), Hispanics (55.4%), and Asians (50.8%). 69.9% of people with Pakinson’s developed dementia by the end of the six-year study. Since Parkinson’s disease deals with the trouble of moving, it affects the nervous system. 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.