{"id":3130,"date":"2025-02-04T08:07:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T13:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/?p=3130"},"modified":"2025-02-24T12:13:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T17:13:14","slug":"what-is-parkinsons-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/what-is-parkinsons-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Parkinson’s Disease?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parkinson’s disease<\/strong> (PD also known as idiopathic or primary parkinsonism, hypokinetic rigid syndrome\/HRS, or paralysis agitans) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease result from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain; the cause of this cell death is unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early in the course of the disease, the most obvious symptoms are movement-related; these include shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking and gait.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, thinking and behavioral problems may arise, with dementia commonly occurring in the advanced stages of the disease, whereas depression is the most common psychiatric symptom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other symptoms include sensory, sleep, and emotional problems. Parkinson’s disease is more common in older people, with most cases occurring after the age of 50.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main motor symptoms are collectively called parkinsonism, or “Parkinsonian syndrome”. Parkinson’s disease is often defined as Parkinson’s idiopathic syndrome (having no known cause), although some atypical cases have a genetic origin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many risk and protective factors have been investigated: the clearest evidence is for an increased risk of PD in people exposed to certain pesticides and a reduced risk in tobacco smokers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pathology of the disease is characterized by the accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein into inclusions called Lewy bodies in neurons and by the insufficient formation and activity of dopamine produced in certain neurons within parts of the midbrain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewy bodies are the pathological hallmark of the idiopathic disorder, and their distribution throughout the Parkinsonian brain varies from one individual to another.<\/span><\/p>\n

The anatomical distribution of the Lewy bodies is often directly related to the expression and degree of the clinical symptoms of each individual. <\/span><\/p>\n

Diagnosis of typical cases is mainly based on symptoms, with tests such as neuroimaging being used for confirmation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Modern treatments are effective at managing the early motor symptoms of the disease, mainly through the use of levodopa and dopamine agonists.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the disease progresses and dopaminergic neurons continue to be lost, these drugs eventually become ineffective at treating the symptoms and at the same time produce a complication called dyskinesia, marked by involuntary writhing movements.<\/span><\/p>\n

Diet and some forms of rehabilitation have shown some effectiveness in alleviating symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Surgery and deep brain stimulation have been used to reduce motor symptoms as a last resort in severe cases where drugs are ineffective.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research directions include investigations into new animal models of the disease and the potential usefulness of gene therapy, stem cell transplants, and neuroprotective agents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Medications to treat non-movement-related symptoms of PD, such as sleep disturbances and emotional problems, also exist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parkinson’s disease affects movement, producing motor symptoms. Non-motor symptoms, which include autonomic dysfunction, neuropsychiatric problems (mood, cognition, behavior, or thought alterations), and sensory and sleep difficulties, are also common.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of these non-motor symptoms are often present at the time of diagnosis and can precede motor symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

A physician will diagnose Parkinson’s disease from the medical history and a neurological examination. <\/span><\/p>\n

No lab test will identify the disease, but brain scans are sometimes used to rule out disorders that could give rise to similar symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

People may be given levodopa and resulting relief of motor impairment tends to confirm diagnosis.<\/span><\/p>\n

The finding of Lewy bodies in the midbrain on autopsy is usually considered proof that the person had Parkinson’s disease. <\/span><\/p>\n

The progress of the illness over time may reveal it is not Parkinson’s disease, and some authorities recommend that the diagnosis be periodically reviewed.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parkinson’s disease (PD also known as idiopathic or primary parkinsonism, hypokinetic rigid syndrome\/HRS, or paralysis agitans) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"What is Parkinson's Disease? - Parkinson's Disease","description":"Parkinson's disease (PD also known as idiopathic or primary parkinsonism, hypokinetic rigid syndrome\/HRS, or paralysis agitans) is a degenerative disorder of th"},"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parkinsons","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3130\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mickeylieberman.com\/parkinsons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}