Parkinsons Disease Essay Example For Students

Parkinsons Disease Essay Diseases are sometimes extremely devastating and cruel. Some diseases move veryrapidly while others are slow and painful. Treatments are sometimes useful yetother times nothing can stop the silent beasts that lurk in the body. Parkinsons disease is a slow moving disease that slowly corrupts the brain. Parkinsons disease (PD) is a chronic motor disorder that causes tremors,rigidity, slowed body movements, unstable posture and abnormal gait. Thishappens when neurons, nerve cells, in a part or the brain called the substantialnigra gradually die. These cells normally produce dopamine, a chemical thathelps relay messages between areas of the brain that control body movement. Thedeath of the cells leads to abnormal low levels of dopamine, and causesdifficulty in controlling muscle tension and muscle movement both at rest andduring periods of activity. PD as of now affects about 500,000 Americans, withabout 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It is generally a disease thataffects people of late or middle age at about age 60 however about 5 percent ofpatients have early-onset PD and are younger than 40 years old when symptomsbegin. PD is slightly more common in men then women. So far scientists have notdetermined the reason why some people develop PD and others do not. Some expertsblame a process called oxidation. During oxidation unstable molecules that areproduced in the brain as a result of its normal chemical reactions whichultimately damage the brain. Another theory suggests that the effects of toxicaffects of drugs may cause PD. Additional evidence suggests that PD may berelated to environmental toxins especially because some claim that they havefound rates of PD that are higher in rural areas where farming is intense andresidents drink well water. So far PD has not been linked to geneticabnormality. PD usually begins as a slight tremor of a hand arm or leg. Thetremors usually affect a limb at rest but it also may occur when it is in use.