Parkinson's Disease Research Paper

Some people may never understand or know what it feels like to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but it is important to note what it is, how it affects an individual, what the treatment options are, and how individuals cope with this disease. Parkinson’s Disease is a disease involving the death of brain cells called neurons in which causes the movements of the body to become uncontrollable. In this paper, Parkinson’s disease, its symptoms, secondary factors, population affected, causes, treatment, and therapy approaches will be thoroughly discussed. Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurological disorder which not only worsens with time, but can become undetected for many years. It was discovered by an English doctor named James Parkinson …show more content…
Some of these problems are: dysphagia, cognitive problems, depression due to low levels of dopamine, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, having difficulty in urinating, constipation, fatigue, pain, and sexual dysfunction just to name a few (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). Most of these secondary factors can be treatable or alleviated with medication. The exact cause of what leads these neurons in the brain to die is unknown, but scientists believe that there are a variety of factors that contribute to this. A variety of studies have shown that Parkinson’s disease can be caused by a single mutation on the LRRK2 gene that is passed on from generation to generation (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). It can also be from exposure to different toxins in the environment, but this risk is very small. The protein called alpha-synuclein can be a contributing factor as well (Mayo Staff Clinic, 2015). This protein is found within Lewy bodies, which are clumps of substances found in brain cells, and these clumps are not able to break down because of this protein (Mayo Clinic Staff, …show more content…
Some research programs, such as The Parkinson’s Disease Biomarkers Programs, which collaborates with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and the NINDS Morris K. Udall Centers of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease Research Programs, work to find ways to better diagnose and treat patients with Parkinson’s and to someday find a cure for this disease (NINDS, 2015). A future treatment that may be in development is stem cell treatment for Parkinson’s (Paddock,C., 2015). Catharine Paddock, PhD (2014) with Medical News Today states that, “… a breakthrough study from Lund University in Sweden shows it is possible to get human embryonic stem cells to produce a new generation of dopamine cells that behave like native dopamine cells when transplanted into the brains of rats.” This could mean that if these new dopamine cells were transplanted into the human brain, the dopamine levels would increase and there would be a cure for