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PARKINSON'S DISEASE |
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What is
Parkinson's disease? |
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Parkinson's disease
(also known as Parkinson disease or PD) is
a degenerative disorder |
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of the central
nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's
motor skills, speech, and |
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other functions. |
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Parkinson's disease
belongs to a group of conditions called movement
disorders. It is |
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characterized by
muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical
movement (bradykinesia) |
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and a loss of
physical movement (akinesia) in extreme cases. The
primary symptoms are |
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the results of
decreased stimulation of the motor cortex by the
basal ganglia, normally |
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caused by the
insufficient formation and action of dopamine,
which is produced in the |
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dopaminergic neurons
of the brain. Secondary symptoms may include high
level cognitive |
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dysfunction and
subtle language problems. PD is both chronic and
progressive. |
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PD is the
most common cause of chronic progressive
parkinsonism, a term which refers to |
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the syndrome of
tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural
instability. PD is also called |
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"primary
parkinsonism" or "idiopathic PD" (classically
meaning having no known cause |
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although this term
is not strictly true in light of the plethora of
newly discovered genetic |
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mutations). While
many forms of parkinsonism are "idiopathic",
"secondary" cases may |
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result from toxicity
most notably of drugs, head trauma, or other
medical disorders. |
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The disease is named
after English apothecary James Parkinson, who made
a detailed |
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description of the
disease in his essay: "An Essay on the Shaking
Palsy" (1817). |
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The term
Parkinsonism is used for symptoms of tremor,
stiffness, and slowing of movement |
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caused by loss of
dopamine. "Parkinson's disease" is the synonym of
"primary parkinsonism", |
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i.e., isolated
parkinsonism due to a neurodegenerative process
without any secondary |
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systemic cause. In
some cases, it would be inaccurate to say that the
cause is "unknown", |
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because a small
proportion is caused by genetic mutations. It is
possible for a patient to be |
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initially diagnosed
with Parkinson's disease but then to develop
additional features, requiring |
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revision of the
diagnosis. |
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