Author: L

Other Recomendations

AAST

Eating healthy is good for people in general, and the same goes for those people that live with Parkinson’s Disease. Nutritious foods will help avoid malnutrition as the muscles of the intestines begin to slow. For more information about the disease and its diagnosis, symptoms, treatments, and medications, please feel free to visit the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s website at http://www.pdf.org/en/about_pd

AAST

All information for this pamphlet was received from the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation website
http://www.pdf.org/en/about_pd

Images were received from:
http://www.mercydesmoines.org/health_questions/In-Depth%2520Reports/10/000051.cfm
http://neurosciencenews.com/polyamine-protein-molecular-pathway-parkinsons-disease-neurology-research/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson's_disease

Parkinson’s
Disease

Tel: 555 555 5555

What is Parkinson’s
Disease?

Parkinson’s Disease is a movement disorder. It is chronic and progressive with symptoms that increase with severity over time. The disease involves the death of some nerve cells in the brain that are vital to kenetic functions. Among some of the neurons that die are those that produce a neurotransmitter that coordinates movement and functions called dopamine. There is no known cause for the death of the nerons in the brain or the loss of dopamine, but it does occur. Those who have the disease have varied lifespans. Based on if a person diagnosed with Parkinson’s receives treatment or not, they can live a relatively long life or a relatively short life.

Symptoms
Although everyone who is diagnosed with Parkinson’s has different symptoms and react to the disease differently, Parkinson’s is classified by a few main symptoms that are hard to miss. These symptoms include:
Resting Tremor: Many people have tremors in either their hands, feet, or on one side of the body
Bradykinesia: This is slow movement and less spontaneous movement
Rigidity: This is stiffness and inflexibility
Posture Instability: This is when the person diagnosed is unbalanced when standing upright
Mask-Like Expression: A person’s face is less expressive
Stooped Posture: People with Parkinson’s have a tendency to lean forward
Speech Problems: Softness of voice and slurred speech
These are some of the main symptoms, but definitely not all of them.
Diagnosis/Treatment
When diagnosing Parkinson’s Disease, the initial diagnosis is made by the family physician or an internist. After the initial diagnosis is made, patients are reffered to a neurologist who was trained to specifically deal with Parkinson’s. They are known as movement disorder specialists. There is no specific exam, but the doctor does look for specific things such as:
If facial expressions are animated
If there is a tremor in the limbs
Stiffness in the limbs or neck
If you can rise easily from a chair
If you can walk normally and arms swing symmetrically
If you are able to quickly regain your balance
There is no known cure for PD, but there are different medications that are taken to treat and lessen the symptoms of the disease such as Bromocriptine , Pramipexole, and Ropinirole to name a few.