Brain Disorders: Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is an incurable condition classified as a motor system disorder. The symptoms of Parkinson's disease can make it hard for someone suffering from the ailment to do simple tasks and the disease progresses at various rates for different people. Parkinson's disease has an unknown cause although research focuses on certain chemicals in the brain such as dopamine that are needed to help the brain cells communicate with the rest of the body.

At Risk for Parkinson's Disease

• The Parkinson's Disease Foundation estimates that one million people in the United States have this disorder. All races of people are subject to the condition but Caucasians are more prone to develop Parkinson's disease than other races. Men are a bit more at risk than women are and the signs of the illness can appear at any age although the average age of someone beginning to exhibit symptoms is 60 years old. In people that are older than 80 Parkinson's affects one in 20.

Symptoms

• The signs of Parkinson's can go virtually unidentified for as long as a few years before they become obvious enough for someone to realize there is a problem. Parkinson's symptoms include tremors which commonly will begin in the person's hands. A condition called bradykinesia can develop in which the individual has a difficult time starting voluntary movements. Walking can become problematic with this Parkinson's symptom as a person will shuffle along and then not be able to take the next step. Muscle rigidity in the limbs and in the neck can occur and posture and a person's balance can be compromised. Movements such as blinking and smiling can be unable to be performed and speaking can be nearly impossible.

Parkinson's Complications

• In addition to the symptoms of Parkinson's disease there are a number of complications that can crop up. One is having a hard time trying to chew or swallow which makes something as simple as eating a chore. Depression over the troubles that the ailment presents is often sees and falling asleep for someone with Parkinson's can be very difficult. Constipation and urinary problems often develop and the drugs used to treat Parkinson's have severe side effects such as involuntary movements of the arms and legs and hallucinations.

Levodopa

• The medications used to treat Parkinson's disease focus on increasing the patient's dopamine levels in the brain. The most often prescribed drug for this is called levodopa. Levodopa actually occurs in the human body naturally. It comes in pill form and when taken is converted into dopamine in the person's brain. Other drugs are used in conjunction with levodopa to keep it from turning into dopamine before it gets to the brain. The benefits of this drug are usually seen right away in a patient but over time the drug's effectiveness begins to decline and it can cause the aforementioned symptoms such as twitching and delusions.

James Parkinson

• James Parkinson was an English doctor as well as a political activist and geologist. He was born in London on April 11, 1755 and died on December 21, 1824. Parkinson wrote an essay in 1817 describing the symptoms of the disease that would one day be named after him. Parkinson watched six people with the affliction take daily walks and from these observations wrote "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy." Among other things Parkinson also wrote about gout and peritonitis.