Nervous System Disease- Parkinson�s Disease

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Nervous System Disease: Parkinson’s Disease Sandra Padilla Marygrove College March 26, 2011

What is Parkinson’s disease?:

What is Parkinson’s disease? The U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health (2011) defines Parkinson’s disease as follows: Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects nerve cells , or neurons, in a part of the brain that controls muscle movement . In Parkinson's, neurons that make a chemical called dopamine die or do not work properly. Dopamine normally sends signals that help coordinate your movements. No one knows what damages these cells.

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What causes the disease ? According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (2011) there is no known cause for this disease. However, experts have recognized aging as a key role that contributes to Parkinson's in some people. The Parkinson Disease Foundation further states that environmental factors may also contribute to the disease.

Causes continued…:

Causes continued… Aging Factors: Individuals over 60 have a 2-4% risk of developing Parkinson's disease, in contrast to 1-2% risk in the general population ( Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 2011). Environmental factors: A number of scientists have suggested that Parkinson's disease may be a consequence from exposure to an environmental toxin or injury ( Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 2011).

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Statistics on Parkinson's According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (2011): Approximately one million Americans have PD , it is more than the total number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig's disease. Yearly diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease among Americans is an estimated at 60,000 . However, this number omits thousand of cases that go unrecognized. World wide approximately 7-10 million people have Parkinson's disease. Although rates of Parkinson’s grows with age, approximately 4% of people with PD are diagnosed before the age of 50. Parkinson Disease is 1 ½ times more prevalent among men .

Treatment :

Treatment According to the National Parkinson Foundation (2011) presently a cure for Parkinson’s disease does not exist . However, treatment to assist in alleviating some of the most uncomfortable symptoms do exist. Some of the treatments include: Medication for motor symptoms Surgical Therapy

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Medication for motor symptoms: In many occasions the medication for Parkinson’s disease assists in temporarily supplying dopamine or imitating the action of dopamine in the brain; since most of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are due to a shortage of dopamine in the brain (National Parkinson Foundation, 2011). Treatment continued…

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Surgical Therapy: Several different surgical therapies exist for Parkinson’s disease. Among one of them is: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). DBS is a surgical procedure which consist of putting electrical stimulators in the brain. This procedure assist in alleviating tremors, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement, and walking problems. This procedure is only applied to patients who have not responded well to the treatment from medication.(National Parkinson Foundation, 2011). Treatment continued…

Psychological factors:

Psychological factors According to Lieberman (2003) Depression is one of the major psychological factors that affect individuals with Parkinson's disease. An estimate of 40% of individuals with Parkinson’s disease have depression along with feelings of shame, sorrow, despair, cynicism, and gloom. In addition patients with Parkinson’s Disease also tend to develop anxiety. An estimate of 40% of patients with Parkinson’s disease p experience extreme anxiety; which can lead to patients experiencing panic attacks and heart attacks.

Social Work Intervention:

Social Work Intervention The Nationa l Parkinson Foundation (2011) state that s ocial w orkers offer non-medical support and assist in a range of hospital and community settings. Among some of the services a social worker may provide are different types of counseling such as: Individual Couple Family This will assist the patient and family to manage the traumatic life events. Social Workers can also assist the client in accessing various resources such as medicaid /medical , social security , and referring clients to attorneys so that they may learn more about their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA ) ( National Parkinson Foundation , 2011).

References:

References Lieberman A.N. Retrieved (2003) Depression in Parkinson’s Disease. Retrieved from http://www.clognition.org/depression.htm National Parkinson Foundation (2011) Putting your comprehensive care team together Retrieved from http://www.parkinson.org/Parkinson-s-Disease/PD- 101/Putting-Your-Comprehensive-Care-Team-Together National Parkinson Foundation (2011) Treatment. Retrieved from http://www.parkinson.org/Parkinson- s- Disease/Treatment

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Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, (2011). Causes. Retrieved from http://www.pdf.org/en/causes Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, (2011). Statistics on Parkinson's disease. Retrieved from http://www.pdf.org/en/parkinson_statistics U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health, (2011) Parkinson’s disease. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parkinsonsdisease.html