Symptoms:

Each person with Parkinson’s will experience different symptoms. For example, many people experience

tremor as their main symptom, while others may lack tremors, they may have problems with balance. For

some the disease progresses quickly and for others it does not.

Primary motor symptoms:

Resting tremor: Presented/shown in early stages of Parkinson’s. Most experience a light tremor in the

hand, foot or one side of their body, occasionally in the jaw and face.

Bradykinesia: Slow movement, reduction of impulsive movement, appearance of unusual stillness,

difficulties with repetitive movements for example, finger tapping, may walk with short, shuffling steps,

can affect a person’s speech, which may become faster and less distinct as Parkinson’s progresses.

Rigidity: stiffness and inflexibility of the limbs and neck, most commonly tightness of the neck, shoulder

and leg

Postural Instability: One of the most significant signs of Parkinson’s, to be unstable when standing

upright. A person with postural instability has lost some of the reflexes needed for holding an upright

posture, and may topple backwards if bumped even slightly.

Secondary symptoms:

Memory loss

Constipation

Sleep problems

Dementia

Speech, breathing, swallowing problems

Stooped posture

Treatment:

There are many medications available to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s, although none yet that actually

reverse the effects of the disease.

Prescription Medications:

Carbidopa/levodopa: remains the most effective drug for treating Parkinson’s.

Dopamine agonists: Drugs that stimulate the parts of the human brain influenced by dopamine. In

effect, the brain is tricked into thinking it is receiving the dopamine it needs.

MAO-B inhibitors: block an enzyme in the brain that breaks down levodopa. These drugs have a modest effect in suppressing the symptoms of Parkinson’s.

Researchers are not fully aware why some individuals get Parkinson’s disease. Brain cells that produce the

chemical messenger, dopamine start to die in people with Parkinson’s. Dopamine releases signals to the

regions of the brain that deal with muscle activity and movement. The brain starts to lose the ability to tell

the body when and how to move. Parkinson’s disease affects the nervous system by creating the inability

for the nerves to receive impulses from the brain and spinal cord. The gradual breakdown of the neuron

cells in the brain makes the production of dopamine decrease, causing unusual brain activity. Factors of the

disease are genetics and can be triggered by environmental factors although the true cause of the disease is

unknown. Some current research on Parkinson’s disease is on methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity.

“Methamphetamine (METH)-induced neurotoxicity is characterized by a long-lasting depletion of striatal

dopamine”

References: http://www.pdf.org/en/symptoms_primary

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/parkinsons-disease

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/parkinsons_disease/parkinsons_research.htm#basics

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/12890883/reload=0;jsessionid=CEPI8cPrl8xRF6tOM15D.12

Affects the nervous system:

Consists of the brian, spinal cord and sensory organs, and all of the nerves that connect these organs with

the rest of the body. Together, these organs work together to control the body and communication among

its parts. Sending messages back and forth the nerves quickly respond to stimulus and relay impulses back

to the CNS from the PNS.

Parkinson’s affects the nervous system by the gradual breakdown of nerve cells in the brain, these neurons

as they are also called, produce chemical messengers that produce dopamine. When the breakdown of the

neurons occur, the levels of dopamine decrease causing abnormal brain activity, which is a leading sign of

parkinsons. The cause of the disease is unknown. Factors that appear to play a role in Parkinson’s disease

are genes, environmental triggers. A synuclein is the current focus among Parkinson’s research.

Symptoms: Tremor, slowed movement, rigid muscles, speech, writing, balance and posture

Treatment and research: Parkinson’s cannot be cured, but can be controlled, often dramatically

Chronic illness- exercise

Carbidopa- Levodopa – it’s the most effective Parkinson’s disease medication, it is a natural chemical that

passes into your brain and is converted into dopamine.

Carbidopa protects the levodopa from premature conversation to dopamine outside of the brain.

References: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/basics/causes/con-

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