Parkinson's Disease Research Paper

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, and progressive motor system disorder; meaning that over a prolonged period of time the patient’s brain cells that produce dopamine deteriorate, and that with every passing day the symptoms get worse. This makes daily life difficult as these symptoms include involuntary movements, sleep disturbances, mood swings, difficulty walking, speaking, and eating, and trouble recalling specific details. This disease currently has no known cure, but there are treatments used to help ease the difficulties that it causes. One such treatment is physical exercise. Physical exercise has been shown to boost physical health, but it is now being proven that it can also affect the mental health of a person. In patients that have Parkinson’s disease, physical exercise can slow the decay of dopamine producing brain cells. This physical exercise can differ depending on the severity of the symptoms within each specific patient. Any type of exercise that can be safely completed is healthy for the …show more content…
It is a drug that when injected into the blood stream, can calm immobility episodes that Parkinson’s patients often encounter. It makes walking, talking, and general movements easier as well as reduces tremors. These injections are a revolutionary discovery for the drug world as they allow the patient to administer their own medicine when necessary for their specific symptoms. One researcher claims, “Apokyn was given priority review because injectable apomorphine is the first therapy approved to treat hypomobility episodes at the time they occur” (Anonymous, 2004). The injections are simple and easy to use, and I have experienced first hand how quickly they can relieve unwanted manifestations of Parkinson’s disease. The one negative is that the injections must be taken with anti-nausea medication as it can cause extreme distress to the