Parkinson's Disease (Biographies of Disease)

161 Pages·2008·0.71 MB·English

by  Nutan Sharma

PARKINSON’S
DISEASE
Nutan Sharma
BiographiesofDisease
JulieK.Silver,M.D.,SeriesEditor
GREENWOODPRESS
Westport,Connecticut x London
Libraryof Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sharma, Nutan.
Parkinson’s disease /Nutan Sharma.
p. ;cm.—(Biographies ofdisease, ISSN 1940-445X)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-34217-2 (alk.paper)
1. Parkinson’sdisease. I.Title.II. Series.
[DNLM: 1.ParkinsonDisease. WL359S531p2008]
RC382.S4772008
616.8033—dc22 2007048657
BritishLibrary Cataloguing inPublication Data isavailable.
Copyright (cid:2)C 2008byNutanSharma
Allrights reserved. Noportionof thisbookmay be
reproduced, byany process ortechnique, withoutthe
express written consentofthe publisher.
Library ofCongress Catalog Card Number:2007048657
ISBN:978-0-313-34217-2
ISSN:1940-445X
First publishedin 2008
Greenwood Press,88Post RoadWest,Westport, CT06881
An imprintofGreenwood PublishingGroup, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printedin theUnited States ofAmerica
Thepaper usedinthis bookcomplies with the
Permanent Paper Standardissued bythe National
Information StandardsOrganization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Tomyson,VikramE.Aldykiewicz,whoisalwayspatientandgood-natured
whenhisplaytimegetsinterruptedbymywork

Contents
SeriesForeword ix
Preface xi
Introduction xiii
Chapter1. Parkinson’sDiseaseDefined 1
TheHistoryofParkinson’sDisease 3
TheAnatomyofParkinson’sDisease 5
PossibleCauses 6
SignsandSymptoms 9
Chapter2. TheDiagnosisofParkinson’sDisease 15
NeurologicalExam 16
MakingtheDiagnosis 19
ClinicalCharacteristicsofParkinson’sDisease 21
Chapter3. HowDoesSomeoneGetParkinson’sDisease? 29
GeneticsasaRiskFactor 30
EnvironmentalRiskFactors 34
AgingasaTrueRiskFactor 35
viii Contents
LifestyleFactorsThatMayReducetheRiskofDeveloping
Parkinson’sDisease 36
Chapter4. TheTreatmentofParkinson’sDisease 37
PhysicalTherapy 38
OccupationalTherapy 40
SpeechTherapy 43
MedicalTreatment 45
SurgicalTreatment 50
Chapter5. TheCourseandComplicationsofParkinson’sDisease 59
MotorComplications 61
NonmotorComplications 66
Chapter6. ComplementaryandAlternativeTherapiesfor
Parkinson’sDisease 83
TheUseofComplementaryMedicineinParkinson’sDisease 84
Chapter7. HowParkinson’sDiseaseAffectstheFamily 91
CopingSkills 92
WhenIn-HomeHelporSkilledNursingCareIsRequired 96
Chapter8. ScientificandClinicalResearchinParkinson’sDisease 101
TheLongRoadtoMarket 104
TheHistoryoftheFDAandtheDrugApprovalProcess 104
StudiesoftheHumanBrain 106
Chapter9. CaseStudiesinParkinson’sDisease 107
Ben 107
Melina 108
Eduardo 109
Kamla 110
Sophia 111
Alec 112
JuniorHighSchoolDance 113
SchoolGraduation 115
Wedding 116
Resources 119
Timeline 127
Glossary 129
Bibliography 141
Index 143
Series Foreword
E very killer has a story to tell, and so it is with diseases as well: about
how it started long ago and began to take the lives of its innocent vic-
tims, about the way it hurts us, and about how we are trying to stop it.
In this Biographies of Disease series, the authors tell the stories of the diseases
that wehave cometo knowand fear.
The stories of these killers have all of the components that make for great
literature. There is incredible drama played out in real-life scenes from the
past, present, and future. You’ll read about how men and women of science
stumbled trying to save the lives of those they aimed to protect. Turn the
pages and you’ll also learn about the amazing success of those who fought the
killerandwon, saving thousands oflives intheprocess.
If you don’t want to be a health professional or research scientist now,
when you finish this book you may think differently. The men and women in
this book are heroes who often risked their own lives to save ours. This is the
biographyofakiller,butitisalsothestoryofreal peoplewhomadeincredible
sacrifices tostopit initstracks.
JulieK. Silver, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Department ofPhysical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Preface
T his book is intended to educate the reader about Parkinson’s disease.
The history of Parkinson’s disease, what is known about the causes of
Parkinson’s disease, and medications used to treat it are discussed in
detail. Current scientific and medical research and the state of promising new
therapies, such as stem cells, are discussed using language that is understanda-
ble tothelayreader.
The bookalso contains numerous case studiesthat illustrate how thosewho
have Parkinson’s disease experience and cope with it. These case studies are
drawn from actual cases that the author has encountered. However, names
and other identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy
of those involved. The goal of these case studies is to put the reader in the
shoes of someone with Parkinson’s disease, to understand how it impacts daily
life.