Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE, Ali Kemal KADİROĞLU, Editör, Akademisyen Kitabevi, Ankara, ss.151-165, 2021
Paralysis Agitans (Parkinson’s Disease), a special motor dysfunction, was first
defined by James Parkinson in 1817. In 1919, it was reported that the most important anomaly of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the loss of the neurons in the midbrain
(1, 2). In the 1950s, researchers discovered that dopamine, which leads to understanding the pathophysiology and pathological biochemistry of PD, is depleted
in the basal ganglia. Approximately 80% reduction in dopamine concentration
drives to tremor, rigidity, akinesia/bradykinesia and postural instability, which are
the main symptoms of the disease (3). These symptoms are defined as Parkinsonism and are considered to be a result of the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons (4, 5).
Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressing chronic disease which usually starts
between the ages 50 and 60 (6). Although various studies have been carried out to
develop science-based therapies, the etiology of Parkinson’s disease has not been
fully clarified. It is reported that it is a non-inherited disease associated with environmental factors (water, herbicides, pesticides, chemicals) (7). If the disease
starts at the age of 20, it is called primary juvenile parkinsonism, and if it starts
between the ages 20 and 40, it is called young onset parkinsonism (6). This disease is observed in 1-2% of individuals aged 55 and above (8). At least two signs
of Parkinsonism are seen in 15% of individuals between the ages 65-74, 30% of
individuals between the ages 75-84, and more than 50% of the individuals over
85. The disease is 1.5 times more common in men than in women (6), and 4 times
higher in the white race than in the black race (9). When the natural course of the
disease is examined, it is seen that although the disease is significantly benign in
some cases, 66% of the patients have symptoms of motor dysfunction in 5 years,
while 80% of the patients have these symptoms in 10 years(10).