Essay about Advances in Parkinson’s Disease - 1345 Words

About seven million people worldwide, one million people in America, and about 60,000 new people every year are all affected by one disease (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Statistics). That disease is Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s takes away little things like movement that many of us take for granted. Lives are changed because of Parkinson’s, but there is hope. Through medical breakthroughs discovered in recent years, my grandpa and many others suffering from Parkinson’s disease have a chance at a better life. History of Parkinson’s Disease Signs or symptoms of Parkinson’s disease have been recorded from years dating all the way back to about 1000 B.C., but the first actual medical diagnosis of the disease was done by James†¦show more content†¦This lead to what we know today (Dauer and Przedborski). Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder in which the dopamine making neurons in the brain slowly die. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that aids in movement, cognitive thinking, and many more things, so people with Parkinson’s disease usually have a tougher time getting around and thinking clearly. When the dopamine deteriorates, the neurons slowly die. Although scientists know that the loss of dopamine is what causes Parkinson’s disease, they still do not know what causes the dopamine to start deteriorating. â€Å"Many believe that by understanding the sequence of events that leads to the loss of dopamine cells, scientists will be able to deve lop treatments to stop or reverse the disease† (Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Causes). Through advances in the technological world, scientists are being able to research in ways that some people may have never thought would be possible. People with Parkinson’s disease My grandpa, R. Gale Desmond, has Parkinson’s disease. About five years ago, he started having tremors and decided to go to the doctor find out what was wrong. â€Å"I wasn’t surprised when it was (Parkinson’s)† (R. Desmond). Gale was a fairly mobile 80 year old but he has slowly become less mobile because of stiffness, lack of balance, and difficulty of movement due to the loss of neurons with dopamine. Even while being in his late 70’s and early 80’s, he was active and would go outside and rakeShow MoreRelatedParkinson s Disease As A Medical Condition1437 Words   |  6 PagesParkinson’s disease has been known about since ancient times. In AD 175, the physician Galen described it as â€Å"shaking palsy† in Western medical literature. It wasn’t until 1817 that a London doctor, named James Parkinson, wrote a detailed medical essay on this disease. This essay established Parkinsonâ₠¬â„¢s disease as a recognized medical condition. 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Retrieved October 23, 2017, from https://www.google.com/patents/US6016449 For the treatment of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, migraines, and Parkinson’s disease, electrodes used as a responsive system would be placed close to the brain or within the brain tissue. When an episode would arise in the patient, signals from the EEG would be processed in signal conditioning in a control module that has been