Parkinson's Diease

Introduction

Parkinson’s disease is a disease that affects millions of people throughout the United States. It is a disorder of the central nervous system that impairs the motor functions, such as speech. This is due to a loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. Sufferer’s of Parkinson’s often show signs of muscle rigidity and tremors. Also, they demonstrate slow physical movement. Their are no blood tests that have been proven to help diagnose this disease, therefore it can be very hard to diagnose. It is most often recognized through neurological examination. Still, it is often difficult to diagnose accurately. There are many clinical trials being done to help find a more accurate way to help diagnose the dieses at an earlier stage, but as of now, there are no medical advances above MRI’s and CT scans.

Parkinson’s got the name from a man named James Parkinson, who wrote, “Essay on the Shaking Palsy.” It was originally called paralysis agitans, but was later called Parkinson’s disease after the famous essay. It also gets its name from the term Parkinsonism, which is a syndrome of tremor. Sufferers of this disease are often referred to as idiopathic.

Background Information

The most commonly misunderstood thing about the disease are the symptoms one faces when diagnosed. The most common symptoms are muscle rigidity, tremors and slow physical movement. These are all movement disorders. However, there are many more categories of symptoms that sufferer’s must face. First, there are non-motor symptoms that people are unaware of. These consist of mood disturbances and a type of disturbances called cognitive disturbances. These consist of slowed reaction time, shorter attention span and even short term memory loss. Another type of symptom is sleep disturbances. People with this disorder often face insomnia, daytime somnolence, or drowsiness, and an increased lack of REM sleep. This can make functioning throughout a normal day very difficult. In addition, another symptom often faced is sensation distubances. These consist of impared vision, dizziness and fainting, reduction or loss of smell, and physical pain. As can be expected, these symptoms can be very scary to those who must try and overcome them. Finally, the last type of symptoms