Parkinsons Disease

Sharon Xiao
Sandy Spring Friends School, MD

Parkinsons Disease
Brochure
March 11th, 2016

What is Parkinsons Disease?

Parkinsonsdisease(PD)isadegenerative,progressivedisorderthataffectsnervecellsindeeppartsofthebraincalledthebasal
gangliaandthesubstantianigra.Nervecellsinthesubstantianigraproducetheneurotransmitterdopamineandareresponsible
forrelayingmessagesthatplanandcontrolbodymovement.Forreasonsnotyetunderstood,thedopamineproducingnervecells
ofthesubstantianigrabegintodieoffinsomeindividuals.When80percentofdopamineislost,PD
symptomssuchastremor,slownessofmovement,stiffness,andbalanceproblemsoccur.(Fig.1).[2]
Figure1.Neuronscommunicatewitheachotheracrossatinygapcalledasynapse.Incoming
messagesfromthedendritesarepassedtotheaxonwherethenervecellisstimulatedtorelease
neurotransmittersintothesynapse.Theneighboringnervecellreceptorspickupthesechemical
messengersandeffectivelytransmitthemessageontothenextnervecell.[4]

The (cause of) Disorder

Ingeneticcases,themutatedgeneispassedfromgenerationtogeneration,resultinginagreat
numberofParkinson'sdiseasecaseswithinanextendedfamily.
Afteringestingthischemical,the
druguserswerestrickenwithaformofParkinson'sdiseasethatwasprimarily,ifnotexclusively,
"environmental"inorigin.[2]FormostParkinson'spatients,thecauseliessomewhereinthemiddle.
BecausethecausesofParkinsonsdiseaseareunknown,thereisnoscientificallyvalidatedpreventive
courseto
reducetheriskofitsonset.ThesinglebiggestriskfactorforParkinsonsdiseaseis
advancingage.
[4]

Daily Life
ThetypicallyslowprogressionofParkinsonsdiseasemeansmostpeoplewithitwillnotmissoutonfullparticipationinand
enjoymentoffamilylife.[]AdiagnosisofParkinsonsdiseasedoesnotmeantheendofparticipationintheworkforce.

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Dependingonthenatureofthework,mildsymptomssuchasaslighttremorinthenondominanthandmaynotaffectyour
employmentatall.Relativelysimpleadjustmentsintheworkplacesuchastheinstallationofahandrailmaymakeahuge
differenceforpeoplewithParkinsonsdisease.Flexibleworkpracticessuchasregularbreaks,reducedhoursorworkingfrom
homemayalsobehelpfultoaccommodatefluctuatingsymptoms.Sexualrelationshipsareanormal,healthypartofadultlifeand
havingParkinsonsdiseaseshouldnotdeterpeoplefromcontinuingtoenjoyintimateactivities.Parkinsonsdiseasecanalso
interferewithsexualactivityatanemotionallevel.Adriverslicenseisasymbolofindependenceinoursocietyandforthat
reasonalone,mostpeoplewanttoretaintheabilitytodriveforaslongaspossible.[5]

Treatments

Thismeansthere'snostandardtreatmentforthediseasethetreatmentforeachpersonwithParkinson'sisbasedonhisorher
symptoms.Treatmentsincludemedicationandsurgicaltherapy.Othertreatmentsincludelifestylemodificationslikegetting
morerestandmoreexercise.[6]Someofthetreatments:[3]

Removethrowrugsandlowlyingobstaclesfrompathwaysinsideandoutsideyourhome.
Takeextrasmallbitesoffood,chewthoroughly,andswallowcarefully.
Insteadofwritingbyhand,useacomputer.

The Area of The Brain affected

Itsnotjustamovementdisorder.Besidescausingtremorsandothermotionrelatedsymptoms,Parkinsons
diseaseaffectsmemory,learning,andbehavior.
Parkinsonsdisease
isnotoriousforsocalledmotorsymptoms
likemusclerigidity,
tremor
,slowedmovement,andunsteadypostureandgait.[7]Bodymovementiscontrolledby
acomplexchainofdecisionsinvolvinginterconnectedgroupsofnervecellscalledganglia.Informationcomesto
acentralareaofthebraincalledthestriatum,whichworkswiththesubstantianigratosendimpulsesbackand
forthfromthespinalcordtothebrain.Thebasalgangliaandcerebellumare
responsibleforensuringthatmovementiscarriedoutinasmooth,fluid
manner(Fig.2).

Figure2.Acrosssectionofthebrain.Theimpulseforbodymovement
beginsinthemotorcortexofthebrain.Thebasalgangliaareresponsiblefor
activatingandinhibitingspecificcircuitsorfeedbackloops.

Theseimpulsesarepassedfromneurontoneuron,movingquicklyfromthe
braintothespinalcordand,finally,tothemuscles.Whendopamine
receptorsinthestriatumarenotadequatelystimulated,partsofthebasal
gangliaareeitherunderoroverstimulated.Inparticular,thesubthalamic
nucleus(STN)becomesoveractiveandactsasabrakeontheglobus
pallidusinterna(GPi),causingshutdownofmotionandrigidity.WhentheGPi
isoverstimulated,ithasanoverinhibitoryeffectonthethalamus,whichinturn

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decreasesthalamusoutputandcausestremor.[4]

Figure4:DopaminelevelsinanormalandaParkinsonsaffectedneuron.[8]