Parkinsonism

Parkinsonism:

see Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease
or Parkinsonism,
degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease; a number of genes have
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Parkinsonism

(also Parkinson’s disease), a chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system characterized by motor disorders. First described in 1817 by the English physician J. Parkinson under the name “shaking palsy,” it is one of the most common neurological diseases, primarily of older people. Its causes are diverse and include encephalitides, cerebral atherosclerosis, head injury, and poisoning by barbiturates or carbon monoxide. The cause cannot be determined in almost half the cases.

In parkinsonism, there is a deficiency of dopamine, a product of catecholamine metabolism, in the subcortical structures of the brain, which results in disruption of the balance between the main systems of brain transmitter substances and in lack of control of movements. Morphological study of the brains of those afflicted reveals destruction of substantia negra cells in the subcortical structures. The principal symptoms are a constant tremor of arms and legs, a masklike facial expression, salivation, increased tonus of all the muscles and general rigidity, and slowness of movements, in particular, a slow gait with small steps.

Treatment with L-dopa, which normalizes the concentration of dopamine, is effective but causes side effects in some patients. Central-acting cholinolytics are used in the initial stages. Surgery is indicated if drug therapy is ineffective. Brain surgery is performed by the stereotaxic technique, which involves destruction of a small area in the subcortical structures. It is quite safe and usually relieves all symptoms of parkinsonism for many years.

REFERENCES

Kandel’, E. I. Parkinsonizm i ego khirurgicheskoe lechenie. Moscow, 1965. (Bibliography.)
Cooper, J. Parkinsonism: Its Medical and Surgical Therapy. Springfield, Ill., 1961.

E. I. KANDEL’

parkinsonism

[′pär·kən·sə‚niz·əm] (medicine) A clinical state characterized by tremor at a rate of three to eight tremors per second, with “pill-rolling” movements of the thumb common, muscular rigidity, dyskinesia, hypokinesia, and reduction in number of spontaneous and autonomic movements; produces a masked facies, disturbances of posture, gait, balance, speech, swallowing, and muscular strength. Also known as paralysis agitans; Parkinson's disease.

parkinsonism

[pahr´kin-sun-izm] any disorder manifesting the symptoms of parkinson's disease or any such symptom complex occurring secondarily to another disorder, such as encephalitis, cerebral arteriosclerosis, poisoning with certain toxins, and neurosyphilis.

par·kin·son·ism

(par'kin-son-izm), 1. A neurologic syndrome usually resulting from deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine as the consequence of degenerative, vascular, or inflammatory changes in the basal ganglia; characterized by rhythmic muscular tremors, rigidity of movement, festination, droopy posture, and masklike facies. Synonym(s): Parkinson disease, shaking palsy, trembling palsy2. A syndrome similar to parkinsonism. Some features seen with Parkinson disease that occur with other disorders (for example, progressive supranuclear palsy) or as a side effect of certain medications (for example, antipsychotic drugs). [J. Parkinson]

parkinsonism

Parkinsonism

(pär′kĭn-sə-nĭz′əm)n.1. A syndrome characterized by tremor, muscular rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural and balance abnormalities, caused by Parkinson's disease or other diseases or induced by trauma, infection, or a drug. Also called Parkinson's syndrome.2. Parkinson's disease.

par′kin·so′ni·an (-sō′nē-ən) adj.

par·kin·son·ism

(pahr'kin-sŏn-izm) 1. A neurologic syndrome usually resulting from deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine as the consequence of degenerative, vascular, or inflammatory changes in the basal ganglia; characterized by rhythmic muscular tremors, rigidity of movement, festination, droopy posture, and masklike facies.
Synonym(s): Parkinson disease. 2. A syndrome similar to parkinsonism appearing as an adverse effect of some antipsychotic drugs. [J. Parkinson]

Parkinsonism

An obsolescent term for PARKINSON'S DISEASE of known causation.

Parkinsonism

A set of symptoms originally associated with Parkinson disease that can occur as side effects of neuroleptic medications. The symptoms include trembling of the fingers or hands, a shuffling gait, and tight or rigid muscles.Mentioned in: Antiparkinson Drugs, Antiviral Drugs, Concussion, Schizophrenia

par·kin·son·ism

(pahr'kin-sŏn-izm) Neurologic syndrome usually resulting from deficiency of neurotransmitter dopamine as consequence of degenerative, vascular, or inflammatory changes in basal ganglia; characterized by rhythmic muscular tremors, rigidity of movement, festination, droopy posture, and masklike facies.
Synonym(s): Parkinson disease. [J. Parkinson]

Patient discussion about parkinsonism

Q. What to expect from a Parkinson's patient? My 70 year old father has been diagnosed with Parkinson's. What will he be like from now on, what to expect?A. Some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease are:
•Trembling of hands, arms, legs, jaw and face
•Stiffness of the arms, legs and trunk
•Slowness of movement
•Poor balance and coordination
The symptoms usually get worse with time and then people with the disease may have trouble walking, talking or doing simple tasks.

Q. what is the latest on parkinson? A. the "National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke" keeps an article on "what's new in Parkinson research" and they update it every now and then. i have to say that the last one is from 2005, but it has some interesting things you might wanna know...:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/parkinsons_disease/parkinsons_research.htm
and the "National Parkinson Foundation" also keeps their readers updated and have a jornal you may find useful things in:
http://www.parkinson.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=246&srcid=201

Q. How do you tell between temporal shaky hands and parkinson disease? My dear granpa's hands are being a bit shaky lately. I was wondering if I should worry about Parkinson's disease or is it most likely to be something else? How to tell? are there other symptoms for Parkinson's?? Any help...A. The tremor (shaking body parts) of Parkinson disease appears during rest of the limb and disappears or weakens during active movement. Additionally, Parkinson's disease cause walking problems and slow movements.
You may read more here:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parkinsonsdisease.html

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Parkinsonism

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Parkinsonism

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Parkinsonism:

Parkinsonism

REFERENCES

parkinsonism

parkinsonism

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par·kin·son·ism

parkinsonism

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Parkinsonism

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Patient discussion about parkinsonism

Parkinsonism

Synonyms for Parkinsonism

noun a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by tremor and impaired muscular coordination

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