Parkinson's Disease: The Basics
What is Parkinson's disease? Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurologic condition that results when dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra, located at the top of the brainstem, stop producing sufficient levels of dopamine, which is essential for normal movements. (The brainstem connects the spinal cord to the brain.)
Why does the loss of these cells cause so many symptoms? Dopamine neurons account for less than 1 percent of the neurons in the brain. The largest cluster, located at the top of the brainstem, has been estimated to number no more than 400,000. However, individual dopamine neurons have as many as 500,000 connections with other neurons, endowing them with enormous influence over our movements, our motivations, and even our emotions.
How common is PD? PD affects about 1 percent of people older than 60 years of age. It affects more men than women. In early-onset PD, symptoms appear between the age of 50. Some reports suggest that 10 percent of all PD cases are early-onset.
What are the symptoms? PD causes trembling in the hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face, along with rigidity of muscles in the arms, legs, and trunk. People with PD also move slowly and sometimes “freeze” entirely for a few seconds. They also have trouble with their balance and coordination.
What are the first symptoms to appear? Recent research has found that PD begins years and possibly decades before motor problems appear. Often the loss of the ability to smell is the first symptom, but others may follow, including depression and other mood changes, sleep difficulties, constipation, memory problems, difficulty planning and carrying out tasks, smaller handwriting, trouble swallowing, and a soft voice. The earliest motor symptom usually involves a subtle tremor in the hands or twitching in the arms or legs.
How is PD diagnosed? Currently there are no laboratory tests to detect PD in the earliest stages. Once motor problems begin, the diagnosis is based primarily on an exam by a neurologist, although brain scans and other tests may be ordered to support the diagnosis.
How is PD treated? While there is no cure for PD, the motor problems can be controlled through medications that restore dopamine function. A common combination involves levodopa, which the nerve cells in the brain can use to make dopamine, and carbidopa, which delays the conversion of levodopa into dopamine until it is in the brain. Other drugs are often used to facilitate the action of dopamine-enhancing medications.
Do these treatments have side effects? Over time, levodopa and related drugs may produce unwanted movements (dyskinesias). The rocking and fidgeting displayed by Michael J. Fox are dyskinesias that appear when he is on his medications. When the medications wear off, patients experience the slowness of movement, rigidity, and other classic symptoms of PD itself.
What non-drug treatments are available? Some patients benefit from deep brain stimulation, in which electrodes are implanted deep in their brain and attached by a wire to a device implanted under their skin. The device sends electrical pulse signals to the electrodes, which may help reduce the symptoms of PD as well as the dyskinesias that sometimes develop from drugs used to treat the disease. Stem cells that produce dopamine have also been implanted in the brains of people with PD with inconsistent results.
For more downloadable information, go to BrainLink fact-sheets. Go down the page and find the download on Parkinson's disease. BrainLink's first priority is to respond to the immediate needs of the families and friends of those who are living with an acquired brain disorder.
Some of these conditions include stroke, head injuries, brain tumour and progressive neurological diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Motor Neurone disease and Huntington’s disease.
This is indeed a much needed and valuable service and we extend our grateful thanks.
-----------------------------------
Gut microbes metabolize Parkinson's disease drug:
The trillions of microorganisms that form the gut microbiota contain a treasure trove of enzymes. These directly modify and metabolize dietary components, drugs, and toxins that humans ingest. Although this is often beneficial, the gut microbiota can modify drug bioavailability and efficacy. Levodopa (L-dopa), the major drug treatment for Parkinson's disease, displays highly variable and interindividual responses with reduced efficacy over time.
14 June 2019
-----------------------------------
Access the FREE Beyond the Basics (English) patient content in UpToDate by simply typing a term or phrase in the search box. Look up your specific question — anything from a symptom you're concerned about to a condition or treatment you've been discussing with your healthcare provider.
Remember to print the information you find in UpToDate so you can discuss it with your healthcare provider.
http://www.uptodate.com/home/uptodate-subscription-options-patients
Use the Resource Trusted by Clinicians and Healthcare Practitioners Worldwide
Learn more about a medical condition and explore treatment options using UpToDate, the same resource trusted by more than 1.1 million clinicians around the world. After you read the information in UpToDate, you will have the tools and the confidence to ask the right questions and have important conversations with your healthcare provider.
-----------------------------------
To help you understand more about Parkinson's disease have a look at this webcast featuring David G. Standaert MD, PhD.
John N. Whitaker Professor and Chair of Neurology
The University of Alabama Birmingham
School of Medicine
This webcast is an archive of the live telephone/web education program that was held on January 26, 2016.
and have a look too at the additional information from:
American Parkinson Disease Association
135 Parkinson Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10305
Web: www.apdaparkinson.org
-----------------------------------
Serotonin and Dopamine Linked to Decision-Making: StudyIn a first-of-its-kind study, researchers monitored subsecond changes in levels of the neurotransmitters in the human brain, unlocking new insight into their function.Amanda Heidt Oct 16, 2020
To capture simultaneous and continuous measurements of the neuromodulators dopamine and serotonin, the study authors designed a microelectrode capable of taking 10 measurements per second.
Long associated with reward and pleasure, dopamine and serotonin may also be involved in general cognition, shaping how people perceive the world and act on those perceptions, a new study finds.
For the first time, researchers have continuously and simultaneously monitored the two neuromodulators in the human brain. The results, published October 12 in Neuron, offer new opportunities to test hypotheses previously studied mostly in animal models.
“This study isn’t just measuring dopamine and serotonin; it’s building upon the deep foundation looking at neural mechanisms for perceptual decisions in animals and humans” and linking the findings of these studies together, Tim Hanks, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study, tells The Scientist. “There’s a growing recognition that [dopamine and serotonin] have more refined and nuanced roles than what may have once been believed, and this study really makes that case clear in human decision-making.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Participating in a support group is a wonderful way to receive practical information and education about living with PD. More importantly, members receive the support of others who truly understand the illness.
An informative PD Handbook from the American Parkinson Disease Association.
What is Parkinson's disease? Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurologic condition that results when dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra, located at the top of the brainstem, stop producing sufficient levels of dopamine, which is essential for normal movements. (The brainstem connects the spinal cord to the brain.)
Why does the loss of these cells cause so many symptoms? Dopamine neurons account for less than 1 percent of the neurons in the brain. The largest cluster, located at the top of the brainstem, has been estimated to number no more than 400,000. However, individual dopamine neurons have as many as 500,000 connections with other neurons, endowing them with enormous influence over our movements, our motivations, and even our emotions.
How common is PD? PD affects about 1 percent of people older than 60 years of age. It affects more men than women. In early-onset PD, symptoms appear between the age of 50. Some reports suggest that 10 percent of all PD cases are early-onset.
What are the symptoms? PD causes trembling in the hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face, along with rigidity of muscles in the arms, legs, and trunk. People with PD also move slowly and sometimes “freeze” entirely for a few seconds. They also have trouble with their balance and coordination.
What are the first symptoms to appear? Recent research has found that PD begins years and possibly decades before motor problems appear. Often the loss of the ability to smell is the first symptom, but others may follow, including depression and other mood changes, sleep difficulties, constipation, memory problems, difficulty planning and carrying out tasks, smaller handwriting, trouble swallowing, and a soft voice. The earliest motor symptom usually involves a subtle tremor in the hands or twitching in the arms or legs.
How is PD diagnosed? Currently there are no laboratory tests to detect PD in the earliest stages. Once motor problems begin, the diagnosis is based primarily on an exam by a neurologist, although brain scans and other tests may be ordered to support the diagnosis.
How is PD treated? While there is no cure for PD, the motor problems can be controlled through medications that restore dopamine function. A common combination involves levodopa, which the nerve cells in the brain can use to make dopamine, and carbidopa, which delays the conversion of levodopa into dopamine until it is in the brain. Other drugs are often used to facilitate the action of dopamine-enhancing medications.
Do these treatments have side effects? Over time, levodopa and related drugs may produce unwanted movements (dyskinesias). The rocking and fidgeting displayed by Michael J. Fox are dyskinesias that appear when he is on his medications. When the medications wear off, patients experience the slowness of movement, rigidity, and other classic symptoms of PD itself.
What non-drug treatments are available? Some patients benefit from deep brain stimulation, in which electrodes are implanted deep in their brain and attached by a wire to a device implanted under their skin. The device sends electrical pulse signals to the electrodes, which may help reduce the symptoms of PD as well as the dyskinesias that sometimes develop from drugs used to treat the disease. Stem cells that produce dopamine have also been implanted in the brains of people with PD with inconsistent results.
For more downloadable information, go to BrainLink fact-sheets. Go down the page and find the download on Parkinson's disease. BrainLink's first priority is to respond to the immediate needs of the families and friends of those who are living with an acquired brain disorder.
Some of these conditions include stroke, head injuries, brain tumour and progressive neurological diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Motor Neurone disease and Huntington’s disease.
This is indeed a much needed and valuable service and we extend our grateful thanks.
-----------------------------------
Gut microbes metabolize Parkinson's disease drug:
The trillions of microorganisms that form the gut microbiota contain a treasure trove of enzymes. These directly modify and metabolize dietary components, drugs, and toxins that humans ingest. Although this is often beneficial, the gut microbiota can modify drug bioavailability and efficacy. Levodopa (L-dopa), the major drug treatment for Parkinson's disease, displays highly variable and interindividual responses with reduced efficacy over time.
14 June 2019
-----------------------------------
Access the FREE Beyond the Basics (English) patient content in UpToDate by simply typing a term or phrase in the search box. Look up your specific question — anything from a symptom you're concerned about to a condition or treatment you've been discussing with your healthcare provider.
Remember to print the information you find in UpToDate so you can discuss it with your healthcare provider.
http://www.uptodate.com/home/uptodate-subscription-options-patients
Use the Resource Trusted by Clinicians and Healthcare Practitioners Worldwide
Learn more about a medical condition and explore treatment options using UpToDate, the same resource trusted by more than 1.1 million clinicians around the world. After you read the information in UpToDate, you will have the tools and the confidence to ask the right questions and have important conversations with your healthcare provider.
-----------------------------------
To help you understand more about Parkinson's disease have a look at this webcast featuring David G. Standaert MD, PhD.
John N. Whitaker Professor and Chair of Neurology
The University of Alabama Birmingham
School of Medicine
This webcast is an archive of the live telephone/web education program that was held on January 26, 2016.
- treatment options
- newly released products
- potential promising therapies in the pipeline
and have a look too at the additional information from:
American Parkinson Disease Association
135 Parkinson Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10305
Web: www.apdaparkinson.org
-----------------------------------
Serotonin and Dopamine Linked to Decision-Making: StudyIn a first-of-its-kind study, researchers monitored subsecond changes in levels of the neurotransmitters in the human brain, unlocking new insight into their function.Amanda Heidt Oct 16, 2020
To capture simultaneous and continuous measurements of the neuromodulators dopamine and serotonin, the study authors designed a microelectrode capable of taking 10 measurements per second.
Long associated with reward and pleasure, dopamine and serotonin may also be involved in general cognition, shaping how people perceive the world and act on those perceptions, a new study finds.
For the first time, researchers have continuously and simultaneously monitored the two neuromodulators in the human brain. The results, published October 12 in Neuron, offer new opportunities to test hypotheses previously studied mostly in animal models.
“This study isn’t just measuring dopamine and serotonin; it’s building upon the deep foundation looking at neural mechanisms for perceptual decisions in animals and humans” and linking the findings of these studies together, Tim Hanks, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study, tells The Scientist. “There’s a growing recognition that [dopamine and serotonin] have more refined and nuanced roles than what may have once been believed, and this study really makes that case clear in human decision-making.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Participating in a support group is a wonderful way to receive practical information and education about living with PD. More importantly, members receive the support of others who truly understand the illness.
An informative PD Handbook from the American Parkinson Disease Association.