Parkinson's Disease

~Background Information: Discovered: It was discovered and its symptoms were first documented by James Parkinson in 1817. The biochemical changes in the brain were discovered in the 1960’s.

~Symptoms: Four Major Symptoms (TRAP) -Tremor -Rigidity -Akinesia (lack of spontaneous movement)/ Bradykinesia (Slowness of movement) -Postural instability- including walking problems and failing balance. Other Symptoms Include: depression, anxiety, memory loss, apathy, loss of sense of smell, dizziness, speech problems, amongst others.

~Systems affected: -Nervous System- explained below -Muscular System- explained below -Sensory Systems- loss of sense of smell, dizziness, impaired visual contrast sensitivity. -Respiratory System- PD does not kill a patient, but since it may be known to affect the respiratory system, a patient can contract pneumonia and die.

~Cause: -Unknown at the moment. There have been studies conducted that several genes can onset the disease amongst other research.

~Overview: How the brain is controlled: The striatum is the place where all the information regarding movement comes together to coordinate bodily motion (amongst other things). The striatum works with other parts of the brain, including the substania nigra, to send messages from the brain to the spinal cord. The nervous system is made up of nerve cell units that communicate with each other through neurotransmitters. Synapse occurs when neurotransmitters bring messages between nerve cells.

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