parkinsons disease
...ooth, purposeful muscle activity. Loss of dopamine causes the nerve cells to fire out of control, leaving patients unable to direct or control their movement in a normal manner.Studies have shown that Parkinson's patients have a loss of 80 percent or more of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigraParkinson's disease (PD) belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders.It affects between 1 and 2 people per thousand of the whole population and approxiamately 10 per thousand of those over 60. Parkinson's and related disorders are the result of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. Dopamine is a chemical messenger responsible for transmitting signals within the brain. Parkinson's disease occurs when certain nerve cells, or neurons, die or become impaired. Normally, these neurons produce dopamine.This disease was named after the English MD. James Parkinson, who in 1817 was the first person to describe these symptoms as 'the shaking palsy'.Dopamine is a chemical messenger responsible for transmitting signals between the substantia nigra and the next "relay station" of the brain, the corpus striatum, to produce smooth, purposeful muscle activity. Loss of dopamine causes the nerve cells to fire out of control, leaving patients unable to direct or control their movement in a normal manner.Studies have shown that Parkinson's patients have a loss of 80 percent or more of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra. The four primary symptoms of Parkinson's 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 an...