Parkinson’s was first described in 1817 by British physician James Parkinson in his Essay on the Shaking Palsy (Fahn, 1999). Various types of this disease are now recognized but the most common form is Parkinson’s disease. It is also called idiopathic Parkinsonism because the cause of nuerodegeneration and this form of the disorder

Seppa, Nathan. 1999. The give and take of Parkinson’s treatment. Science News, v156(33), pp 342-346.

is unknown(Clinical Reference Systems, 1999). The average age of onset of Parkinson’s disease is 55 years of age although it can occur at younger ages such as in Michael J. Fox’s case(Fahn, 1999). Parkinson’s affects nearly one million Americans such as two in every one-thousand people but only ten percent of the cases are of whom develop symptoms before the age of forty (Cummings, 1999). Parkinson’s produces an annual cost of twenty billion dollars in treatment and medication. Parkinson’s or shaking palsy is described as an insidious disease that threatens one’s quality of life as it progresses. It is classified as a chronic disease, meaning you will have it the rest of your life, and is also progressive resulting in symptoms growing worse on an average of ten to twenty years. The disease will become disabling but one will not die because of Parkinson’s, rather you will die with the disease.

Although we do not know why the disease occurs, we do know what exactly happens and evolves from Parkinson’s. Parkinsonism results from the deterioration of neurons in the region for the brain called the substantia nigra. In this part of the brain the neurons normally produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, which sends signals to the basal ganglia, a mass of nerve fibers that help to initiate and control patterns of movement (Fahn, 1999). Dopamine functions in the brain as an inhibitor of nerve impulses and is involved in suppressing unintended movement. When the dopamine-producing neurons are damaged of destroyed, dopamine levels drop and the normal signaling system is disrupted (Fahn,1999). Insufficient dopamine disturbs the balance between dopamine and other transmitters, such as acetylcholine. Without dopamine the nerve c

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