NCLEX Review: 7 Facts to Know About Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurologic disorder that affects a person’s movement.

Quick Facts

• Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive disorder.
• Almost 10 million people are affected by PD.
• PD occurs in the substantia nigra region in the brain.
• The cause of PD is not known.
• Other names used to refer to PD is paralysis agitans and shaking palsy.
• A person with PD may develop the disease for almost 20 years but for some, it develops faster.
• Telltale symptoms that help doctors diagnose PD right away:
  • Tremors
  • Rigidity
  • Bradykinesia

1. The Stages of Parkinson’s Disease

Stage 1

• Onset
• Tremor on one side of the body
• Change occurs in posture, walking, and facial expressions

Stage 2

• Symptoms such as tremors and rigidity affecting both sides of the body
• Daily tasks are getting difficult but patient may continue to live alone

Stage 3

• Middle stage
• Hallmark symptoms are loss of balance and slow movements
• Common accidents are falls

Stage 4

• Symptoms are limiting and severe
• The person needs help in doing daily activities
• Can’t live alone

Stage 5

• Debilitating stage
• The legs are too stiff that walking is impossible
• At this stage, the person may be in a wheelchair or bedridden

2. Rating Scales

• Hoehn and Yahr Stages
• Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale

3. Risk Factors

• Genetics
• Environment Factors such as:
  • Head injury
  • Residence
  • Exposure to pesticides
  • Lifestyle

4. Signs and Symptoms

Early

• Tremors
• Small handwriting (micrographia): handwriting changes. Handwriting may change  (smaller fonts than usual)- sentence structures and words get mixed up
• Loss of smell
• Sleeping problems: there is a change in the way a person sleeps such as sudden movements or acting out in dreams.

Motor and sensory problems

• Low or soft voice: a change in the way the person speaks
• Mask face
• Dizziness or Fainting
• Stooping or Hunching Over
• Constipation
• Cramping
• Dyskinesia
• Festination
• Freezing
• Shuffling gait

Non-motor symptoms

• Cognitive changes
• Early satiety
• Excessive sweating
• Fatigue
• Increase in dandruff
• Delusions and hallucinations
• Lightheadedness otherwise called postural hypotension
• Loss of sense of smell
• Mood disorders
• Pain
• Sexual problems
• Sleep disorders
• Urinary incontinence, urgency, and frequency
• Vision problem
• Weight loss