Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Just imagine: your muscles going stiff, tremors running through your limbs constantly and the inability to smile and laugh with your grandchildren. This torment is the everyday experiences of a Parkinson's disease sufferer. Parkinson's disease is a growing concern in our nation, and though we know what the symptoms are, we do not know for sure what causes it, or even how to cure it. Throughout this paper, the definition will be described as well as the symptoms and treatment options.
"Parkinson's disease is a chronic degeneration of the Central Nervous System that produces movement disorders and changes the cognition and mood." (Vene, 1529). Progressiveness of this disease becomes noticeable around the mid50's to late 60's and it's most prominent in males. The degeneration is due to the deficiency of a neurotransmitter, a chemical that controls nerve cells, called dopamine. Dopamine's main job in the body is to control the cells which manage motor function.
Since there is not enough dopamine in the body, the nerves are constantly out of control, sending more then twice as many electrical signals to the muscles and limbs. Because of this, the muscles, especially in the hands and feet, are constantly trembling. The tremors start out very faint, referred to as "pill rolling tremors". This trembling usually occurs in the limb, especially the upper regions of the body, but till gradually move throughout the whole body. (Venes, 1520)
Another symptom of the disease is the rigidity of muscles. This occurs because the nerves are firing so rapidly out of control. When the electrical nerve signals stimulate the muscles, they then become stiff from the constant motion. Because of this, most Parkinson's patients often have a bowed back, because of the tense muscular state. They will also have a shuffled walk. As this muscles degeneration continues to occur, the face is severely defected as well. Therefore, most Parkinson's
Just imagine: your muscles going stiff, tremors running through your limbs constantly and the inability to smile and laugh with your grandchildren. This torment is the everyday experiences of a Parkinson's disease sufferer. Parkinson's disease is a growing concern in our nation, and though we know what the symptoms are, we do not know for sure what causes it, or even how to cure it. Throughout this paper, the definition will be described as well as the symptoms and treatment options.
"Parkinson's disease is a chronic degeneration of the Central Nervous System that produces movement disorders and changes the cognition and mood." (Vene, 1529). Progressiveness of this disease becomes noticeable around the mid50's to late 60's and it's most prominent in males. The degeneration is due to the deficiency of a neurotransmitter, a chemical that controls nerve cells, called dopamine. Dopamine's main job in the body is to control the cells which manage motor function.
Since there is not enough dopamine in the body, the nerves are constantly out of control, sending more then twice as many electrical signals to the muscles and limbs. Because of this, the muscles, especially in the hands and feet, are constantly trembling. The tremors start out very faint, referred to as "pill rolling tremors". This trembling usually occurs in the limb, especially the upper regions of the body, but till gradually move throughout the whole body. (Venes, 1520)
Another symptom of the disease is the rigidity of muscles. This occurs because the nerves are firing so rapidly out of control. When the electrical nerve signals stimulate the muscles, they then become stiff from the constant motion. Because of this, most Parkinson's patients often have a bowed back, because of the tense muscular state. They will also have a shuffled walk. As this muscles degeneration continues to occur, the face is severely defected as well. Therefore, most Parkinson's