Parkinson's disease Flashcards
LO
- Be familiar with the clinical symptoms of PD.
- Recognise the pathological hallmarks of PD.
- Appreciate some of the proposed mechanisms that underlie this disease.
- Be familiar with the current therapies for PD.
What is Parkinsons disease?
A Movement disorder
Who does PD affect?
3-5% of over 65 year olds
How common is PD?
2ND Most common ND disease
What are some characteristics of PD that are similar to other ND?
Misfolded proteins, templated seeding, brain atrophy, lack of clearance of misfolded proteins, neuroinflammation
HD, familial AD and PD= elderly
What are the clinical symptoms of PD?
- difficulty in initiating voluntary movement
- shuffling gait
- resting tremor
- rigidity
What are the pathological hallmarks of PD?
Loss of dopaminergic neurons
Lewy bodies present in degenerating neurons
Tell me about the pathway of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia?
Alongside the substantia nigra, what else helps with the modulation of movement?
The striatum of the basal ganglia i.e, caudate nucleus and putamen
What some experimental evidence that dopaminergic neurons play a loss of motor control in PD?
What are Lewy bodies composed of?
Alpha synuclein ubiquitin
The fact they contain UQ tell the body to remove it
What are some of the causes of PD?
- Sporadic
- Genetic
- Lifestyle
Tell me about some of the sporadic casues of PD?
- Unknown cause
- Drug abuse (MPTP (early onset))
- Chemical exposure i.e., pesticides
- Personality type
Tell me about MPTP and some experimental evidence
MPTP inhibits mitochondrial function
MPTP leads to degeneration of substantial nigra
Experiment: give animal MPTP treatment. Did in monkey and found severe nerve cell loss in NMPTP- treated animals. Animals showed little movement until they received dopamine injections. Shows reliance on dopamine for movement as they were not making their own
Brain scans and autopsies on those juveniles who died with EOPD to confirm
Tell me about the chemical exposure with pesticides
Link found via epidemiological studies
Need about 80% of circuitry to die before clinical symptoms are seen