Parkinson's Disease: Symptoms, Pathophysiology and Treatment

Parkinson's disease affects the central nervous system, thus impacting vital motor skills. The most common symptoms are motor related. Rigidity, tremor, postural instability and slowness of movement are common signs of the disease. Other recognized symptoms are related to gait and posture disturbances such as festination, freezing of gait, mask-like facial expression, a slurred monotonous quiet voice, etc. Cognitive deficits can also occur. These include executive dysfunction, problems with abstract thinking, lack of cognitive flexibility, attention deficit, uninhibited action, etc. The primary pathological mechanism of Parkinson's disease is cell death in the brain's basal ganglia. The chief line of defense against the deterioration of motor functions due to Parkinson's disease is a set of drugs comprising of levodopa, MAO-B inhibitors and dopamine agonists. Surgery, subcutaneous waking day apomorphine infusion, deep brain stimulation and enteral dopa pumps may also be used after the body stops reacting to medications. This book contains some path-breaking studies in Parkinson's disease. It explores the fundamental as well as the modern understanding of the symptoms, pathophysiology and treatment of Parkinson's disease. This book is a collective contribution of a renowned group of international experts. It is a complete source of knowledge on the present status of this disease.