Parkinson's disease Flashcards
what is Parkinson’s
progressive, incurable neurodegenerative disorder
average age of onset is 60
what are the motor symptoms of Parkinsons
bradykinesia
rigidity
tremor (pill-rolling)
postural instability
what are the non-motor symptoms of Parkinsons
neuropsychiatric (cognitive, depression, anxiety)
REM sleep
behaviour disorder
constipation
pain
describe Lewy body progression
lewy bodies first appear in the medulla and olfactory bulb
then progressively spread to the pons, midbrain, limbic lobe, neocortex
what do the basal ganglia circuitry do
process signals that flow from the cortex
allowing correct execution of voluntary movements
what does degeneration of dopaminergic neurons do
degeneration of dopaminergic receptors of the substantia nigra triggers a cascade of functional changes that effect the whole basal ganglia network
what does substantia nigra neuronal death lead to
nigrostriatal dopaminergic deficit
treatment of Parkison’s
gold standard treatment is carbidopa and levodopa (must be taken together), they are dopamine precursors
other treatments are MAO-B inhibitors which stop dopamine breakdown, dopamine agonists and COMT inhibitors which stop reuptake of dopamine