Parkinsin's disease

3 Pages 634 Words

In 1817, a London physician, named James Parkinson, wrote the first information of Parkinson’s disease in his “Essay of the Shaking Palsy.” Little research was done throughout the years. However, researchers at the University of Vienna brought hope in 1960, that restoring low dopamine levels might effectively treat the disease. Investigators soon learned that dopamine by itself was useless; it would be metabolized before reaching the brain. So, in 1970, levodopa was approved for prescription sale and in 1975, Sinemet became available on prescription. What exactly is Parkinson’s? Are there effective treatments? Soon, we will find out the answers to these questions and many others. Not many people know what Parkinson’s disease is. Others may have misconceptions about the disease. I wrote this paper to inform the reader and to expand on my own general interest. Also, this topic is important to me because my grandmother has this disease, and I wanted to know more about it. I would like to thank the writers and publishers for writing and printing the necessary material. This paper is incomplete due to unobtainable sources, because this is an ever-changing field, and limited resources for obtaining some information. PARKINSON’S DISEASE Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder characterized by tremor, stiffness, and slowness of movement. Patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease become hunched over, tend to lose their balance, and have slurred speech (Sinha & Zang, pp. 77-81). There are many other symptoms, which will be described briefly. Between one and one-and-a-half million Americans have Parkinson’s disease. It can affect men and women; men have a greater chance of getting it; living anywhere in the world. It is uncommon in people under thirty years old and eighty percent of all cases are diagnosed after the age of fifty. As with many other diseases, the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease incre...