Parkinson's Disease Research Paper

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that is characterized by tremors and movement impairments. Before the first studies were conducted on it, it used to be called shaking palsy. Shaking palsy has been known about since ancient times. James Parkinson, who the disease was named after, was a scientist that studied the disease in 1817 and established shaking palsy as a real medical condition. In his studies, Parkinson studied himself, who had the disorder, and encouraged further study on it. Jean Martin Charcot, a French neurologist, also studied the disease and named it after Parkinson.
Parkinson’s is a multifactorial trait or polygenic disorder. So far seven genes have been thought to be associated with the disease. Mutations in the …show more content…
The cardinal, or main, symptoms of PD include: bradykinesia, the slowness of movement; reduction of voluntary movement; rigidity and unusual stiffness in limbs; and the resting tremor, which is an uncontrollable and involuntary movement when a limb is at rest.
Some other symptoms include: postural instability, or trouble with coordination and balance when walking; decline in mental ability and concentration; unstable mood, including depression and anxiety; insomnia and REM sleeping disorders; drooling and smell loss; and issues with swallowing and speech. Parkinson's is caused by a deficiency of the chemical dopamine in the brain. Parkinson’s disease is not immediately fatal, but can shorten lifespan by an average of ten to twenty years. Having this disorder can reduce quality of life.
Parkinson’s disease can be detected before symptoms appear with genetic testing, neuroimaging, and autonomic system testing; however, this methods are not absolutely certain as these symptoms are similar to those in process of aging. Parkinson’s cannot be detected prenatally, and a carrier can only be potentially detected, as the carrier may not carry the gene, and those that do would not always develop the disease at all in their …show more content…
Levodopa, or L-dopa, is generally the “gold standard” for treating Parkinson as it crosses the blood-brain barrier in order to convert into dopamine and temporarily restore the level of dopamine in the brain. The drug is usually taken with other supplements to reduce the harmful side-effects, which include nausea and dyskinesia, the inability to control muscles, low blood pressure, and gastrointestinal problems, or problems in the stomach. Some other medications used to treat Parkinson’s disease are dopamine agonists, which stimulate receptors in the brain that regulate the amount of dopamine in the brain. Another treatment for Parkinson’s disease is COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) Inhibitors, which increase the dopamine already in the brain and temporarily boosts motor coordination. However, some side effects for COMT include many of the same symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as involuntary muscle contractions, insomnia, and gastrointestinal problems. Monoamine Oxidase B, or MAO-B Inhibitors, are also used to treat Parkinson’s by blocking an enzyme that degrades dopamine in the brain, MAO-B. Side effects of this medication may be severe and dangerous. In extreme cases of the disease in which the quality of life is severely impaired, brain surgery remains an option to reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. There are multiple

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