Review and respond on the neurobiological basis for the disorder that your classmate has described as well as at least one current and relevant research study related to diagnosis or treatment of the disorder below .
Parkinson's disease has been described as a degenerative neurological disorder, caused by the degeneration of the nigrostriatal system, the dopamine secreting neurons of the substantia nigra that send axons to the basal ganglia, (Carlson,2013), Parkinson's disease affects nerve cells/neurons in the brain breaking them down slowly or destroy them altogether causing the deficiency of automatic, habitual responses due to this damage in the basal ganglia, neurological basis of Parkinson's disease is the low level of dopamine, the chemical messenger in the brain dopamine shows a decreased level which is the key, it affects and produces the abnormal brain activity leading to signs of Parkinson's disease symptoms consisting of; muscular rigidity, slowness of movement, a resting tumor, and postural instability, Reynolds, Hanna, Neargarder, & Cronin-Golomb,(2017) suggested anxiety and cognitive dysfunction are highly prevalent, even in the early stages, also, Dissanayaka, Au, Angwin, O'Sullivan, Byrne, Silburn, & Copland,(2017) suggested that cognitive processes such as; anxiety, language, attention, memory, and executive functioning play an effective part of communication within Parkinson's disease affected by this disease,(Barret,Lindquist,&Gendron,2007).
Parkinson's disease has no specific test, no test currently exists to determine the disease, Neurologists trained in determining this disease rule out any other disorder before diagnosing Parkinson's through blood tests and imaging tests such as; MRI's, ultrasounds to the brain, PET and SPECT scans.
Current Treatment Options:
The Mayo-Clinic, current research shows several factors that may play a role as risk factors in Parkinson's disease; age (middle to late life& 60 and over), heredity, (if more than the parent has the disease), sex- (men more than women are affected), exposure to toxins-(ongoing herbicide and pesticide exposure, slight risk).
Medications are used to control tremors, movement, and walking problems, according to the MayoClinic.org, (2015) medications are; Carbidopa-levodopa-levodopa the most effective, a natural chemical passing through the brain and converted to dopamine, Carbidopa-levodopa infusion-
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called Duopa in 2015(mayoclinic.org), made of carbidopa and levodopa administered in a feeding tube. Dopamine agonists, MAO-B inhibitors, Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors, Anticholinergics-to control tremors, Amantadine- providing short term relief of mild symptoms.
Parkinson's disease does not have a cure, so Dr's. suggest lifestyle changes, aerobics, and physical therapy for gait, balance and stretching to help ease the symptoms, speech language pathologists can be beneficial to improve speech problems if they become present.