This glossary of terms and phrases about PD covers all of the typical medical and scientific terms as well as healthcare, disability and legal phrases patients and their families encounter as the disease progresses.
These are the mundane activities we perform each day (e.g., dressing, bathing, cooking, paying bills, eating, toileting, shopping, walking from one room to another, talking with others, leisure activities etc).
A drug is an agonist if it attaches itself to a cell in such a way as to make it act or work as it usually acts when it is normally stimulated by chemicals within the body or brain. In the case of Parkinson's disease and agonist (like bromocriptine) stimulates a specific neurochemical cell or receptor to produce more of its natural product (dopamine).
"A" means without and "kinesia" means movement so akinesia means without movement.
Body chemicals that scavenge for and neutralize free radicals.
What is apathy, and how does Parkinson's affect feelings of apathy?
Loss of balance and coordination.
Involuntary, repetitive movements, especially with the hands, fingers, and (sometimes) feet. The movements can be writhing and slow.
Groups of cells deep in the base of the brain that use dopamine and other neurochemicals to program complex movements. The basal ganglia is composed of many structures important in Parkinson's disease including the subthalamic nucleus and the pallidum.
Occurring on both sides of the body.
Slow movement. "Brady" means slower and "kinesia" means movement.
Carbidopa is a drug that prevents the nausea and vomiting sometimes associated with levodopa. 'Sinemet' combines carbidopa with levodopa in one tablet. Usually dose of each drug is given as a ratio with carbidopa on top and levodopa on bottom. So a dose of 25/100 would indicate 25 milligrams of carbidopa and 100 milligrams of levodopa.
A clinical trial is a test of a new drug or treatment to evaluate its effectiveness and safety. Often clinical trials are run by the big drug companies with hundreds of participants and dozens of study sites around the country. Clinical trials are by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before a new drug or treatment can be put on the market.
A brief definition of cogwheeeling motion.
A brief definition of Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT or CT scan).
What is deep braim stimulation (DBS)?
When a previously suppressed behavior or function is allowed to surface or function because some other behavior or function that had been preventing its emergence is now no longer doing so.
A brief definition of dopamine agonists.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter or brain chemical that is depleted in Parkinson's Disease. Most drugs that relieve Parkinson symptoms work by increasing doapmine levels in the brain.
A brief definition of dyskinesia.
A brief definition of dysphagia.
A brief explanation of essential tremor and why it is different from Parkinson's disease.
Find out what free radicals are and how they affect Parkinson's disease.
Find out what "freezing" is in Parkinson's disease.
Learn about the Hoehn and Yahr Stages.
A brief definition of impulse control disorders.
Find out how Lee Silverman Voice Treatment can help speech and language problems in Parkinson's disease.
Levodopa is converted into dopamine in the brain, and combined with carbidopa is used to treat the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
A brief definition of Lewy bodies
a brief definition of "masked facies"
A brief definition of micrographia.
A brief definition of Multiple System Atrophy.
A brief definition of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
A brief definition of the term neuron.
A brief definition of the on-off phenomenon.
PD is a brain disorder involving loss of the chemical messenger dopamine. It is a progressive disorder, meaning that it typically gets worse over the years. Dopamine normally controls muscle activity so PD primarily affects movement. Its three cardinal signs are tremor (trembling which usually starts in one hand), rigidity in the trunk or limbs and slowness of movement.
A brief definition of the placebo effect.
A brief definition of positron-emission tomography.
A brief definition of postural instability.
A brief description of the drug Sinemet
A brief definition of stem cells.
A brief definition of the substantial nigra.
A brief definition of tremor.
Find out what the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) is.
