Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson’s Disease (PD), "the shaking palsy" first described by James Parkinson in 1817, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which affects in upwards of 1.5 million Americans. The disease begins to occur around age 40 and has incidence with patient age. One survey found that PD may affect 1% of the population over 60. Incidence seems to be more prominent in men, and tends to progress to incapacity and death over one or two decades.
Clinical diagnosis of PD is currently solely dependent on the presentation of the symptoms by the patient which reflect a deficiency of striatal dopamine caused by the destruction of the cells in the substantia nigra. Imaging and other laboratory techniques can be used to rule out other disorders, but are not necessary for the actual diagnosis of PD. The first sign of PA is usually bradykinesia. Movements are usually quite slow. Routine activities may require deliberate planning and thought for execution. Difficulty initiating movements or akinesia, may also be present. Rigidity in the flexors is also present. This is due to an exaggerated response to normal proprioceptive return from the somatic musculature. A resting tremor of 3-6 Hz is also a prominent feature of PD. This may cause difficulties in handwriting as a symptom. Impaired postural reflexes is also a presenting feature in PD. Patients can easily lose their balance when pushed slightly, and may need to be caught to keep from falling. These signs can be tested by observing the patients walking, getting out of deep chairs, and performing rapid repetitive movements. Increased disturbances in cognitive abilities can also show evidence of PD. Even with all these signs of PD, it may be present and undiagnosed f...
... middle of paper ...
...ly researched today. Hopefully, the disease will soon be able to be diagnosed early enough that its progression can be stopped and be cured. With current research and development, this day may soon come.
Works Cited:
Jenner, P. Clues to the mechanism underlying dopamine cell death -in Parkinson’s disease. Journal of Neurology’ Neurosurqerv, and Psychiatry (1989): 22-28.
Korczyr., A. D. Autonomic Nervous System Disturbances in Parkinson’s Disease. Advances in Neurology, 53 (1990): 463-68.
Kingston, J. W. Current theories on the cause of Parkinson’s disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psvchiatry, (l989): 13-17.
Langston, J. W. and W. C. Koller. The next frontier: Presymptomatic detection. Geriatrics, Aug. 1991: 5-7.
Paulson, G. W. Management of the patient with newly -diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. Geriatrics, Feb. 1993: 30-40.
It needs to be understood that it is as natural as cancer or AIDS, but can be worse and a living hell for those who are the victims of this illness, and not treated in time. When we can give all the care and attention to other medical problems, and can go campaigning for them; then its time to look at this aspect of illness with same enthusiasm. We cannot afford to neglect this illness. We need more voluntary involvement, and have a better infrastructure developed to build a better future for every person who is suffering, and who is prone to suffer with the current mode of life of high stress and competitions.
Parkinson’s disease is not a condition that is necessarily easy to be diagnosed. Therefore, the individual is advised to see a Parkinson’s specialist to receive the most accurate diagnosis and consider what the best course of treatment for the individual would be.
Hypokinetic Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder that is often associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). It can occur when there is interference in the basal ganglia control circuit. These disruptions can include “degenerative, vascular, traumatic, infectious, inflammatory, neoplastic, and toxic-metabolic diseases (Duffy, 2013, p. 176).” Damage to the basal ganglia control circuit results in reduced range of motion as well as the inability to inhibit involuntary movements. Hypokinetic dysarthria is most commonly caused by PD; a progressive, neurogenic disease that is characterized by tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and incoordination. Eighty-seven percent of hypokinetic dysarthria cases are associated with degenerative disease (Duffy, 2013).
care to the residents suffering from dementia. Banner et al (2009 as cited in Lee J.et al.2012)
on the account of ancient Indian texts relating to the Ayurveda medical system which identified the disease as Kampavata. Many others have identified Parkinson’s throughout time as either the “shaking palsy” or its Latin form “paralysis agitans” (Abramovitz, 10). People such as Middle Age physician Galen in 175 AD and widely known Leonardo Da Vinci all picked up on the presence of Parkinson’s Disease before it’s official description was written in 1817 in
Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder in the community resulting in significant disability. This global problem has consumed the lives of many. “Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year, and this number does not reflect the thousands of cases that go undetected” (Statistics on Parkinson’s, 2014). Once this unbiased disease has begun to affect the patient it is a lifelong battle. Parkinson’s disease has a tremendous impact on the patient as they battle for their independence and plead for their acceptance into their own community setting. People living with Parkinson’s disease struggle with tremors, bradykinesia and rigidity. It takes a skilled nurse to be able to care for the patient suffering with Parkinson. With education, support and exercise the patient will be able to feel some sense of hope for their future. The purpose of this paper to is educate the community about Parkinson’s disease and the impact on the patient and on the nurse caring for the patient.
With more than 200,000 US cases per year, Parkinson’s disease has become a major part
Parkinson's is an idiopathic, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease that attacks neurotransmitters in the brain called dopamine. Dopamine is concentrated in a specific area of the brain called the substantia nigra. The neurotransmitter dopamine is a chemical that regulates muscle movement and emotion. Dopamine is responsible for relaying messages between the substantia nigra and other parts of the brain to control body movement. The death of these neurotransmitters affects the central nervous system. The most common symptoms are movement related, including shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with posture. Behavioral problems may arise as the disease progresses. Due to the loss of dopamine, Parkinson's patients will often experience depression and some compulsive behavior. In advanced stages of the disease dementia will sometimes occur. The implications of the disease on the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory and phonatory systems significantly control speech.
There are profound effects of ageism that can be harmful to a patient’s overall health. Ageism can cause physicians to consistently treat older patients unequally compared to younger adults. Unequal treatment can be divided into the under-treatment of symptoms and the over-treatment of symptoms. The imbalance in how a physician would treat a geriatric patient is ageist because the older adult is not getting fair treatment in every case. Under-treatment and over-treatment are different; however, they are both equally as harmful to a patients health.
The fact that early signs of Parkinsonism can easily be overlooked as normal aging, further complicates diagnosis. Therefore, primary care physicians of the middle-aged and elderly population must be extremely sensitive to patients’ outward appearance and changes in movement ability. Most signs and symptoms of Parkinson disease correspond to one of three motor deficiencies: bradykinesia, akinesia, tremor, and rigidity. The first two qualities are usually present before tremor, but often attributed to aging by the patient and even the physician, and thus the disease is rarely diagnosed until tremor becomes evident much later. An average of 80% of the nigrostriatal neurons may have already degenerated by the time Parkinsonism is diagnosed, which complicates treatment (Fitzgerald, 130).
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.
...g, the District is right to terminate Fern Root. In the case of T.W.A v. Hardison, Hardison sued his employers for failing to make reasonable accommodations for his religious beliefs. However, in that case, reasonable accommodations were made by Trans World Airlines. In this case, reasonable accommodations were not made for the religious beliefs of Fern Root. It would be best to apologize profusely to Fern Root and offer Root her position back, with the promise of days off to fulfill her religious obligations. Additionally, it would be beneficial to mention that the ingestion of illegal narcotics during school again would be grounds for immediate dismissal.
...th professionals, were significantly more cynical toward and distrustful of older adults” (p. 63). The findings in Meisner’s (2012) conveyed that physicians demonstrated attitudes about older patients including feelings of these individuals being “disengaged and unproductive” while assuming that these characteristics applied to all of the older patients regardless of each person’s actual abilities (p. 63). Combing all older adults into one category defined by disability and dysfunction is detrimental to the well-being of each patient. Chronological age is not the determining factor relative to treatment; functional age is a better testament to expected outcomes for a patient. It is imperative that physicians understand what is “normal aging” rather than searching for pathologies based on symptoms that are just part of this aging process. According to Meisner
James Parkinson first discovered Parkinson's Disease in 1817. Parkinson's Disease is a common neurologic disorder for the elderly. It is a disorder of the brain characterized by shaking and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. This disease is associated with damage to a part of the brain that controls muscle movement. Parkinson's Disease is a chronic illness that is still being extensively studied.
The entire kingdom rejoiced when the Queen became pregnant, but she soon fell deathly ill. The knights looked for the magical flower the witch used and found it and brought it back the to the castle, where it was made into a potion and given to the Queen. Miraculously, the Queen recovered and soon gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who had shining golden hair: Rapunzel.