Parkinson's Disease: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Management

Parkinson Hastalığı ve Atipik Parkinson Sendromlarının Ayırıcı Tanısı

“…The cardinal Parkinsonism symptoms include resting tremors, rigidity, postural instability, dyskinesia and bradykinesia 1,29,30 . Resting tremors can occur intermittently and unilaterally typically in the foot or hand in approximately 70% of patients with PD 25 . Rigidity refers to stiffness in the neck, limbs and trunk thereby may affect movements associated with walking 31 .…”

“…Additionally, DBS may also be an effective treatment for PD but may not be as an effective treatment for APS 23 . The present therapies are focused on alleviation of symptomology primarily because the etiology of the disease remains unknown 24,25 .…”

Repetitive Finger Movement, Buttoning and Purdue Pegboard Tasks in People with Parkinson’s Disease

“…There are also cases in which the disease is linked to family history, known as familial cases. The genes linked to these familial cases include mutations in the PARK1 (SNCA) gene (codes for alpha synuclein protein), PARK2 (codes for Parkin protein), PARK5 (codes for ubiquitin Cterminal hydrolase L1), PARK7 (linked to early onset form of PD), PARK6, and other gene loci that include PARK3, PARK4, PARK8, and PARK10 (Samli et al, 2004;Nolden et al, 2014). These familial cases occur in about 15% of patients with PD.…”

“…The symptoms observed in PD are a result of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta that in turn lead to a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the striatum. At the presentation of the motor symptoms in PD, approximately 70-80% of these dopamine-producing neurons may already be lost (Nolden et al, 2014).…”

“…Of the four cardinal symptoms (tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability), bradykinesia is the most debilitating in early PD, affecting fine motor skills and making it difficult to perform activities of daily living such as buttoning up clothing, handwriting, and cutting food (Samli et al, 2004;Nolden, Tartavoulle, & Porche, 2014). With bradykinesia being a prominent symptom of PD, it is routinely examined through rapid sequential limb movements in the motor section of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-III).…”