Dopamine: Difference between revisions

Parkinson's disease is an age-related disorder characterized by [[movement disorder]]s such as stiffness of the body, slowing of movement, and trembling of limbs when they are not in use.<ref name=Jankovic>{{cite journal | vauthors = Jankovic J | title = Parkinson's disease: clinical features and diagnosis | journal = Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry | volume = 79 | issue = 4 | pages = 368–76 | date = April 2008 | pmid = 18344392 | doi = 10.1136/jnnp.2007.131045 | url = http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/79/4/368.full | doi-access = free }}</ref> In advanced stages it progresses to [[dementia]] and eventually death.<ref name=Jankovic/> The main symptoms are caused by the loss of dopamine-secreting cells in the substantia nigra.<ref name=Dickson>{{cite book | vauthors = Dickson DV|chapter=Neuropathology of movement disorders | veditors = Tolosa E, Jankovic JJ| title=Parkinson's disease and movement disorders |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstown, MD |year=2007 |pages= 271–83 |isbn=978-0-7817-7881-7}}</ref> These dopamine cells are especially vulnerable to damage, and a variety of insults, including [[encephalitis]] (as depicted in the book and movie "''[[Awakenings]]"''), repeated sports-related [[concussion]]s, and some forms of chemical poisoning such as [[MPTP]], can lead to substantial cell loss, producing a [[Parkinsonism|parkinsonian syndrome]] that is similar in its main features to Parkinson's disease.<ref name=Tuite>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tuite PJ, Krawczewski K | title = Parkinsonism: a review-of-systems approach to diagnosis | journal = Seminars in Neurology | volume = 27 | issue = 2 | pages = 113–22 | date = April 2007 | pmid = 17390256 | doi = 10.1055/s-2007-971174 | s2cid = 260319916 }}</ref> Most cases of Parkinson's disease, however, are [[idiopathic]], meaning that the cause of cell death cannot be identified.<ref name=Tuite/>