Parkinson's Disease Research Paper

Parkinson’s Disease is a well-known syndrome that has been around for many decades and has recently become a disease sparking higher interest. One of the first medical descriptions for this disease was written in 1817 by James Parkinson that helped lead to further studies throughout the mid-1800s.1 This disease is a result from the lack of dopamine production within cells. Parkinson’s syndrome does not discriminate against race and gender around the world. “Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder that affects as many as 1-2% of persons aged 60 years and older.” 2 Parkinson’s disease is highly prevalent within the 65-90 aged populations as well as 0.3% of the general population in all. 3 Parkinson’s disease was first categorized by its common symptoms due to the lack of studies on this subject. Primary symptoms associated with this disease-included tremors and weakness; which was later discovered that these were not the only symptoms. 1 Studies progresses and soon it was discovered that rigid muscles, slowed movement and bradykinesia were also symptoms of PD. 1 In todays studies, there is no conclusive test for the diagnosis of …show more content…
The venesection treatment included bloodletting from the neck, which James believed would redirect blood and pressure away from the spinal cord and brain. 1 This was obviously a faulty treatment and had no positive affect on PD. In the 1950s, after many years of studies, the levodopa treatment was discovered. The L-DOPA treatment, although helpful in early stages of PD, did not have the ability to maintain PD and resulted in further combined treatments. 3 In recent years there have been developing new ideas in hopes of surgical treatment for this disease. “Surgical procedures comprise deep brain stimulation, ablative lesions and cell transplantation,” which gives a positive outlook on future treatments for Parkinson’s disease.