Braden Bruington
Parkinson's Disease
Fact Sheet of Info.
Biology II Per. 2
April 28, 2001
http://www.geocities.com/lazybraden/parkdreport/
Introduction
Parkinson's is a disease of the nervous system that affects muscle control. It occurs mostly in Caucasian males, but is not race or gender specific. Although no cause has been discovered, many researchers believe that it occurs due to genetics, abnormalities in development, and environmental factors as well.
In 1817 it was named after its describer, the British physician James Parkinson, who researched the disorder citing six patients. 50,000 people in the United States and Canada are diagnosed each year. Estimating how many people have the disease is difficult, however, because symptoms are often mistaken for the normal effects of aging.
The disease develops as the substantia nigra in the brain degenerates. In healthy people, these contain certain nerve cells that produce dopamine. Dopamine helps in muscle control and body movement. In people with Parkinson disease the loss of the cells in the substantia nigra reduces the supply of dopamine. Without adequate dopamine, the nerve cells activate improperly, which impairs a person's ability to control their movement.
Symptoms
Parkinson disease is one of a group of nervous system disorders known as Parkinsonism, all of which have certain symptoms in common. Parkinson disease most notably affects motor control. The disease progresses differently for each individual. Debilitating symptoms develop swiftly in some people, while other people experience only minor motor problems and no disability. Even some Parkinson patients may develop problems that affect their intellect or ability to reason, or they may suffer from depression or anxiety.
Often, doctors look for principal symptoms in patients they suspect may have Parkinson disease. The first of these is tremor, which is the major symptom for most Parkinson disease patients. Second is the stiffness of the joints and limbs, similar to arthritis. Third is bradykinesia, which produces a physical and mental sluggishness in patients. Doctor’s also look for postural instability, in which a person has difficulty adjusting to changes in body position.
Treatments and Advancement
As of know there is no known cure for Parkinson’s as no treatment prevents the progressive brain changes in patients who have the disease. But various drugs and sometimes surgery can control the symptoms.
Because most symptoms of Parkinson disease arise from a deficiency of dopamine in the brain, drugs that treat Parkinson disease use other methods to temporarily restore dopamine in the brain or closely mimic dopamine's actions. These types of drugs include levodopa, dopamine agonists, and amantadine.
Surgery of the brain is also becoming a poplar alternative for patients who no longer respond to drug therapy. The most common treatment is destroying small parts of the brain that control movement. In recent years the advent of new brain-imaging techniques has improved surgical precision, allowing for potentially dangerous procedures to be done with higher success rates.
-