Parkinson's Disease
Medical Reviewing Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Introduction
Parkinson's disease may be one of the most baffling and complex
of the neurological disorders. Its cause remains a mystery but research in this
area is active, with new and intriguing findings constantly being reported.
Parkinson's disease was first described in 1817 by James
Parkinson, a British physician who published a paper on what he called "the
shaking palsy." In this paper, he set forth the major symptoms of the disease
that would later bear his name. For the next century and a half, scientists
pursued the causes and treatment of the disease. They defined its range of symptoms, distribution
among the population, and prospects for cure.
In the early 1960s, researchers identified a fundamental brain defect that is
a hallmark of the disease: the loss of brain cells that produce a chemical -
dopamine - that helps direct muscle
activity. This discovery pointed to the
first successful treatment for Parkinson's disease and suggested ways of
devising new and even more effective therapies.
Society pays an enormous price for Parkinson's disease. According to the
National Parkinson Foundation, each patient spends an average of $2,500 a year
for medications. After factoring in office visits, Social Security payments,
nursing home expenditures, and lost income, the total cost to the Nation is
estimated to exceed $5.6 billion annually.
What is Parkinson's disease?
Parkinson's disease belongs to a
group of conditions called motor system disorders. The four primary symptoms are tremor
or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; rigidity or stiffness of the
limbs and trunk; bradykinesia or slowness of
movement; and postural instability or impaired balance and coordination. As these symptoms become more pronounced,
patients may have difficulty walking, talking, or completing other simple tasks.
The disease is both chronic, meaning it persists over a
long period of time, and progressive, meaning its symptoms grow worse over time.
It is not contagious nor is it usually inherited - that is, it does not pass
directly from one family member or generation to the next.
Parkinson's disease is the most common form of
parkinsonism, the name for a group of disorders with similar features (see
section entitled "What are the Other Forms of Parkinsonism?"). These disorders
share the four primary symptoms described above, and all are the result of the loss of
dopamine-producing brain cells. Parkinson's disease is also called primary
parkinsonism or idiopathic Parkinson's disease; idiopathic is a term describing
a disorder for which no cause has yet been found. In the other forms of
parkinsonism either the cause is known or suspected or the disorder occurs as a
secondary effect of another, primary neurological disorder.
Next: What causes Parkinson's disease? »
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Last Editorial Review: 12/17/2005
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