Agents to control Parkinson’s disease.pdf

Agents to control Parkinson’s disease CHMI3427EL Winter 2024 Dr. S. Montaut 1 Introduction Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive movement disorder that presents with symptoms of : (1) resting tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw, and/or face; (2) bradykinesia or slow initiation and paucit...

Agents to control Parkinson’s disease CHMI3427EL Winter 2024 Dr. S. Montaut 1 Introduction Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive movement disorder that presents with symptoms of : (1) resting tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw, and/or face; (2) bradykinesia or slow initiation and paucity of voluntary movements; (3) rigidity of the limbs and trunk; and (4) postural instability, including impaired balance and coordination. Many Parkinson’s disease patients also suffer from dementia and psychiatric conditions, including hallucinations and depression. 2 Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease most prominently afflicting the extrapyramidal dopaminergic neurons that have cell bodies in the substantia nigra pars compacta located in the midbrain with nerve terminals extending into the corpus striatum. These regions of the brain play significant roles in motor control. Parkinson’s disease results from progressive dysfunction and cell death of these neurons causing a deficiency of dopamine in the nerve Depiction of brain regions and dopaminergic terminals in the corpus pathways involved in Parkinson’s disease striatum. 3 The etiology of Parkinson’s disease is unknown. However, in some cases genetics appears to play a critical role. Epidemiologic studies have found age is the most prominent risk factor for developing Parkinson’s disease followed by a family history of the disease. Genetic forms of Parkinson’s disease have been found in a small portion of cases (