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Index of Diseases and Conditions: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Parkinson's Disease

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. Symptoms of Parkinson's disease may include

As symptoms get worse, people with the disease may have trouble walking, talking or doing simple tasks. They may also have problems such as depression, sleep problems or trouble chewing, swallowing or speaking.

Parkinson's usually begins around age 60, but it can start earlier. It is more common in men than in women. There is no cure for Parkinson's disease. A variety of medicines sometimes help symptoms dramatically.

Parkinson's Disease on Wikipedia

'''Parkinson's disease''' (PD; paralysis agitans) is a neurodegenerative disease of the substantia nigra (an area in the basal ganglia of the brain). The disease was first discovered and its symptoms documented in 1817 (''Essay on the Shaking Palsy'') by the British physician Dr. James Parkinson; the associated biochemical changes in the brain of patients were identified in the 1960s. Some genes were identified only recently; others remain unknown. The disease involves a progressive movement disorder of the extrapyramidal system, which controls and adjusts communication between neurons in the brain and muscles in the human body. It also commonly involves depression and disturbances of sensory systems. In the United States, the prevalence of Parkinson's disease is 1 per 625 people, though this increases with age, as indicated by the mean onset of 55 years of age. Symptoms usually begin in the upper extremity, and are usually unilateral (one-sided) or asymmetrical at onset.

Causes

The cause of Parkinson's disease is not known. Geneticists have since 1997 found nine different specific genetic defects, each of which causes the disease in one or a few families with extraordinarily high incidences of the disease, but such families are rare. While a strong inheritance pattern occurs in only a very small percentage of cases, an affected individual is three to four times more likely than an unaffected individual to have a close relative with Parkinson's. Having a parent with Parkinson's raises one's lifetime risk of developing the disorder threefold, from the general population's figure of 2% to about 6%. Genes that have been identified include ''SNCA'' (protein alpha-synuclein), ''UCHL1'' (protein ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1), ''PARK2'' (protein parkin), and ''PARK7'' (protein DJ-1). Indeed, recent linkage studies excluded most of the above gene defects ...   [ Read More ]


External Resources

Back to the Future Time Control - Cast biographies, scripts, soundtrack lyrics, film easter eggs, image gallery, filming location details, multimedia, and links. Also includes information on Parkinson's disease and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Vilvacora - Offers herbal treatments for many diseases, such as cancer, allergies, alzheimer, parkinson disease and hepatitis. How to buy the herbs, how to dose them, how to compose complete treatments.

ViewPoint - Provides tools for animal behavior analysis such as video tracking systems, manual event recorder, digital video recorder, infrared cages, and dedicated software for applications in neurosciences, pharmacology, toxicology, ethology, Parkinson's disease.

Section Molecular Neurogenetics - Research on genetics of polyglutamine neurodegeneration, such as Huntington and spinocerebellar ataxia 2, as well as stroke spasticity and Parkinsons disease at Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany.

Cell Genesys - Focused on the development and commercialization of cancer vaccines and gene therapies to treat various cancers including leukemia, hemophilia A and B, restenosis after angioplasty and Parkinson's disease.

Nitric oixde website - Dr Weiming Xu's nitric oxide research in human diseases, such as cancer, Lazheimer's diseases, Parkinson's disease, heart diseases.

Brain Dynamics Center - Studies brain disorders including ADHD, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, Parkinson's disease, and traumatic brain injury.

Center for Neuroregeneration Research - Workins on developing therapies for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and related disorders

ReNeuron Ltd. - Developing somatic transplantation technology for diabetes, neuronal degeneration and therapy for brain damage including stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease. Overview of company in Guildford, England.

Locating the Timekeeping Centers of the Brain - By identifying the area in the brain responsible for governing our sense of time, scientists can study defective time perception, which occurs in people with Parkinson's disease and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).


Related Pages on HealthTales.com:

Fifth Disease
Addison's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease
Celiac Disease
Chagas Disease
Crohn's Disease
Gaucher's Disease
Gum Disease
Hodgkin's Disease
Huntington's Disease

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