Parkinson's disease overview

IGEA, Parkinson awareness

Parkinson's disease was first discovered in 1817 by James Parkinson. Although initially labeled a Palsy disorder, Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder and has both motor and nonmotor components. It is a common disorder and affects around one million Americans. Typically Parkinson's disease affects elderly people, however, it can be young-onset and patients can begin to show symptoms as young as in their 30's and 40's. Factors that impact the development of the disease in patients include stress, environmental toxins, and free radicals. However, smokers and people that consume caffeine regularly have been shown to have a smaller chance of developing the disease. Gene mutations have also been linked to increased risk of developing Parkinson's diseases. Gender plays a role as well in the risk factors. Men are more likely to develop Parkinson's than women and although studies have suggested that estrogen plays a role in the lower instances of women with Parkinson's disease, it has not been conclusive. (Miller, 2010)

Slideshare, TRAP

There are four common symptoms of Parkinson's that can be described by the acronym TRAP. The first symptom in the acronym is tremors that occur while the patient is at rest. The most common tremors that occur in Parkinson's patients are hand tremors but Parkinson's patients can also display chin, lip, jaw and leg tremors as well. The second symptom is rigidity which promotes resistance against movements of the joints. This typically occurs in lower and upper joints and can be misdiagnosed as arthritis. Akinesia or bradykinesia is the term for slowing movements and is one of the biggest characteristics of Parkinson's disease. It usually begins as a slower reaction time when performing everyday tasks and develops into a loss of the ability to perform sudden movements and loss of facial movements. The last hallmark symptom of Parkinson's disease is postural deformities. These deformities occur because of the rigidity in the trunk and neck of the body. The rigidity can cause scoliosis along with other physical deformities. Parkinson's patients can also develop deformities in their hands and feet at a later stage of the disease. (Jankovic, 2008)

Manipalglobal, Healthy brain and Parkinson's brain 

Another risk for Parkinson's patients is the higher chance of developing dementia once Parkinson's disease is diagnosed. Research has shown that Parkinson's patients are four to six times more likely to develop dementia than their healthy counterparts. Parkinson's disease has been directly linked to the production of dopamine in the brain. Parkinson's disease starts to develop after the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain, these neurons are important because they are part of the nigrostriatal pathway which is a major dopamine pathway in the brain. This pathway facilitates movement by communicating from the midbrain to the corpus striatum with dopamine to allow smooth and controlled muscle movements. However, once these neurons begin to degenerate it negatively impacts the dopamine movement from one area to another which begins to adversely affect the motor movements in the body. These symptoms begin to occur after approximately 50% to 80% of dopaminergic neurons are lost in the brain. (DeMaagd, & Philip, 2015)


References:

DeMaagd, G., & Philip, A. (2015). Parkinson’s Disease and Its Management: Part 1: Disease Entity, Risk Factors, Pathophysiology, Clinical Presentation, and Diagnosis. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 40(8), 504–532.

Harvey Checkoway, Karen Powers, Terri Smith-Weller, Gary M. Franklin, W. T. Longstreth, Jr., Phillip D. Swanson; Parkinson's Disease Risks Associated with Cigarette Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Caffeine Intake. Am J Epidemiol 2002; 155 (8): 732-738. doi: 10.1093/aje/155.8.732

Jankovic, J. (2008)Parkinson’s disease: clinical features and diagnosis

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry,79:368-376.

Marie, L. (n.d.). James Parkinson | Parkinson's Disease. Retrieved April 04, 2017, from http://www.allaboutparkinsons.com/james-parkinson.html

Miller, I. N., & Cronin-Golomb, A. (2010). Gender differences in Parkinson's disease: Clinical characteristics and cognition. Movement Disorders, 25(16), 2695-2703. doi:10.1002/mds.23388

Mizuno, Y. (2016). Parkinson Symptoms in Dementia with Lewy Bodies. Dementia with Lewy Bodies, 93-109. doi:10.1007/978-4-431-55948-1_8

Pramod Krishnan, Consultant Neurologist, Epileptologist, Sleep Specialist at Manipal Institute of Neurological Disorders, Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India Follow. (2015, May 13). BASICS IN NEUROIMAGING: CT, MRI AND PET. Retrieved April 04, 2017, from https://www.slideshare.net/drpramodkrishnan/basics-in-neuroimaging-ct-mri-and-pet

Susan Miller Follow. (2015, April 05). Parkinsons and exercise2. Retrieved April 04, 2017, from https://www.slideshare.net/SusanMiller28/parkinsons-and-exercise2

Understanding Parkinson's Disease. (2017, March 15). Retrieved April 04, 2017, from http://www.igeaneuro.com/understanding-parkinsons-disease/