The Five Stages Of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that progresses slowly in most people (Understanding Parkinson’s). This type of neurological disorder affects movement, muscle control, and balance (Parkinson’s Disease). Parkinson’s in its self is not deadly, it is the other complications that come along with Parkinson’s such as not being able to swallow and food being aspirated into the lungs causing pneumonia, which is very hard for someone of old age to recover from that causes it to become fatal. The normal age that most people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s is between 55-75, but it also can be developed in younger people which is called young-onset (Parkinson’s Disease). It is also said that Parkinson’s is more common in
The first stage is the initial stage, the patient has mild symptoms that do not interfere with activities of daily living, tremor and other movement symptoms occur on one side of the body, and their might be a noticeable change in posture (Understanding Parkinson’s). The second stage symptoms are a little worse. Tremor and rigidity effect both sides of the body, walking and poor posture become apparent, and the patient can live alone but has some difficulty completing activities of daily living (Understanding Parkinson’s). The third stage is considered the mid-stage. The loss of balance and slowness mark this phase. The person is still fully dependent, but symptoms are becoming more impaired and falls are more common (Understanding Parkinson’s). The fourth stage symptoms become sever and very limiting. Most patients need extra help like assistant devices such as walkers. The patient is now unable to live alone and needs help to accomplish activities of daily living (Understanding Parkinson’s). And the last stage which is the fifth stage is the most sever stage. Stiffness becomes impossible, needs help with all activities, and starts to hallucinate (Understanding Parkinson’s). The main lobes affected are the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital. (Mosley, Anthony D., MD). In the frontal lobe of a Parkinson’s patient involves voice and speech problems (Mosley, Anthony D., MD). The temporal lobe makes someone with Parkinson’s have cognitive and memory disturbances (Mosley, Anthony D., MD). The effects in a Parkinson’s parietal lobe has occasional disturbances in taste and smell (Mosley, Anthony D., MD). And the lastly effected lobe is the occipital which can cause the inability to control eye muscles and distort visual information that communicates with the brain (Mosley, Anthony D., MD). All forms of Parkinson’s disease start’s with sudden reduction in the quantity of dopamine in the substantia nigra (Ali, Naheed., MD).