Parkinsons Disease and How It Affects the Nervous System - Research Paper Example

? Parkinson's Disease and How It Affects The Nervous System Nicholas Bortnick GWU Introduction The main system of communication in the body is the nervous system. It controls the most fundamental processes in the human body. Its main function is coordinating the functions of the body through transmission of signals to different parts of the body. All vertebrates have the central (CNS) and the peripheral nervous systems (PNS). The brain and spinal cord are the major organs of the CNS (King, Frazee, & De, 2008). The peripheral nervous system comprises of sensory neurons and nerves. The nerves, in turn, connect the sensory neurons to the CNS. The brain is responsible for controlling almost all the body functions while the spinal cord is responsible for facilitating movement of the body. Neurons are cells that transmit signals to other cells. The nervous system consists of receptors that detect changes in the external and the internal body environment. The changes are then converted into signals called nerve impulses that are then transmitted to the brain. The brain brings these impulses together and creates their sensations. The system responds by sending signals to muscles or glands. The muscles will contract or relax while glands will produce secretions to act on the sensations created in the brain. The best example of the working of the nervous system is the reflex arc. Reflex arc consists of automatic and involuntary responses that do not always involve the brain. For instance, withdrawal of a hand from a hot surface is an example of a reflex arc. Therefore, the nervous system controls the main functions of the body. One of the diseases that affect the nervous system is Parkinson’s disease (King, Frazee, & De, 2008). Etiology and Pathogenesis Parkinson’s disease affects close to five million people in the world. In the United States, one million individuals are victims of the disease. Scientists have not determined the main cause of Parkinson’s disease. However, research is still ongoing to determine the main factors that lead to this disease. Aging and several factors within the environment are possible causes of the disease. Among the one million victims of the disease in the United States, 1% of them are the age of 60 while 4% are those above 80 years old (MedicineNet, 2012). This is a clear indication that Parkinson’s disease is most common among the older members of the society. Factors in the environment affect the old because of their weak immune systems. Stress is also a factor that scientists suspect to cause Parkinson’s disease. This is because stress affects various cells in the brain. Some researchers and scientists attribute the disease to abnormal genes passed through generations by the process of inheritance. However, there is not enough proof to show that genes and inheritance are the causes of the disease Pathology Parkinson’s disease mostly affects the aged members of the society. It affects the function of the brain that controls movement. There are nerves in the brain that produce a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that sends signals to the section of the brain that controls movement. This chemical ensures that there is proper coordination between muscles and that they perform the activities that the brain and the body require them to perform. The disease affects substantia nigra pars compacta cells in the brain. These cells produce dopamine, a chemical that facilitates transmission of nerve impulses in the body (MedicineNet, 2012). The condition worsens gradually over a long period if there is no adequate medication given. The disease affects muscles throughout the body after a long period and leads to problems such as difficulties in swallowing and constipation among others in the early stages. If doctors do not attend to the disease, with time, it leads to other complications like difficulty speaking, lack of expression, or even fatal complications (MedicineNet, 2012). Clinical Features and Diagnosis This disease has four main symptoms. The first symptom is tremors, often accompanied by trembling and shaking of hands and legs. However, it is not wise to conclude that an individual has Parkinson’s disease after observing tremors. The other symptom that has a close relationship with tremors is stiffness of muscles. Tremors affect some parts of the body, but later affect muscles throughout the body leading to difficulties in performing activities such as swallowing. Slow movement is the other symptom that most Parkinson’s disease patients display. The victims are not able to move as they wish because of the interruption of the muscles that coordinate movement. Lack of diagnosis leads to complete loss of balance, which is the other symptom of the disease. Loss of balance eventually brings problems in walking (Watrin, 2012). However, doctors are able to control all the above symptoms through medication if they discover them early enough. The symptoms above do not provide enough evidence of the disease in a patient, but doctors use them as a basis of diagnosis. All the symptoms are easily observable making it easy for diagnosis. Doctors administer tests to determine whether the patient suffers from the disease or another complication. The tests are in the form of administration of drugs used to treat the disease. If a patient does not display any symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, it implies that he or she is not suffering from the disease, but the process does not stop at that level. The doctor must administer other tests to the patient to determine the causes of the patient’s symptoms (WebMD, LLC, 2012). Treatment Treatment of the disease targets increasing levels of dopamine in the body. There are drugs that help doctors in administering this treatment to patients. Levodopa is probably the most frequent drug that doctors prescribe to treat Parkinson’s disease. The body’s metabolism extracts dopamine from the drug. However, Levodopa has some side effects, which influence doctors to prescribe it together with another drug called Carbidopa. The combination of the drug depends on the patient because some patients perform well using Levodopa only. Patients must not take the drug together with food containing vitamin B-6 because the vitamin affects its effectiveness (Mouradian, Heuser, and Baronti et. Al, 1990). Tolcapone and Entacapone are other drugs that patients can use together with levodopa. These drugs hinder the action of the enzymes that break down levodopa thereby increasing the influence of the drug on the symptoms. Stalevo is a new drug that doctors have discovered to help in treating Parkinson’s disease. This drug is a combination of Levodopa, Carbidopa and Entacapone. The drug is the most effective because Carbidopa eliminates the side effects of Levodopa while Entacapone increases the action of Levodopa in the body. All these types of medication aim at increasing the level of dopamine in the body (WebMD, 2012). Neurosurgeons have done various experiments to test different treatments of the disease. Most of the experiments have been successful in treating the condition among patients. These experiments include implanting stem cells that produce dopamine in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease. This approach replaces the use of drugs in treating the disease. The only criticism of this approach comes because there are no clear guidelines about the source of the fetal tissues that are implanted in the brain. However, scientists are still advancing their knowledge in the field of surgical treatment for patients of Parkinson’s disease (WebMD, 2012). The figures of the disease in the United States and the World suggest that the disease is among the most serious diseases that affect the nervous system. The nervous system controls most of the functions of the body suggesting that the effects of the disease are severe if doctors do not attend to the patient. References Herter, Christian Archibald (1907) [1892]. “Fig. 66 – Paralysis agitans. (After St. Leger.) (Gowers)”. Diagnosis of Organic Nervous Diseases (2nd ed.). New York and London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons pp. p. 589. Retrieved 2012-11-24. King, W. A., Frazee, J. G., & De, S. A. A. F. (2008). Endoscopy of the central and peripheral nervous system. New York: Thieme. MedicineNet. (2012). Parkinson's Disease. Retrieved on 25 November 2012 at http://www.medicinenet.com/parkinsons_disease/article.htm Mouradian, M., Heuser, I., and Baronti, F. et. al. (1990). Modification of central dopmenergic mechanism by continous L-DOPA therapy for advanced parkinson’s disease. Annual neurology, 27:18-23. Watrin, D. (2012). Years before Diagnosis, Quality of Life Declines for Parkinson’s disease Patients. JOURNAL OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE. Retrieved on 25 November 2012http://www.journalofparkinsonsdisease.com/JPD/Home_files/JPD%20Press%20Release%20Years%20before%20Diagnosis.pdf WebMD. (2012). Parkinson's Disease Health Center. Retrieved on 25 November 2012 at http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/understanding-parkinsons-disease-treatment WebMD, LLC. (2010). Parkinson's Disease Health Center. Retrieved on 25 November 2012http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/guide/parkinsons-disease-topic-overview Read More