Introduction A variety of surgical treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD), including ablation or deafferentation of motor and premotor cortex, cervical cordotomy, and mesencephalic pedunculotomy, were performed in the first five decades of the twentieth century ( ). These procedures generally…
Introduction The clinical symptoms and signs of Parkinson disease (PD) can be conveniently divided into motor and nonmotor features, necessitating individualization of therapy tailored to each patient’s needs ( ). Although the nonmotor aspects of PD can be equally incapacitating…
Anatomical and biochemical pathologic processes of PD Historical introduction Parkinson disease (PD) was first described in 1817 with the publication by James Parkinson of a small book entitled An Essay on the Shaking Palsy ( ). In it, he described…
Introduction Parkinsonism is a syndrome manifested by a combination of the following six cardinal motor features: tremor-at-rest, rigidity, bradykinesia, loss of postural reflexes, flexed posture, and freezing (motor blocks). A combination of these signs is used to clinically define definite,…
Introduction The basal ganglia comprise a collection of nuclear structures deep in the brain and have been defined anatomically and functionally. Anatomically, the basal ganglia are the deep nuclei in the telencephalon. Functionally, three closely associated structures, the subthalamic nucleus…
Movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, is produced by the contraction of muscle. Muscle, in turn, is normally controlled entirely by the anterior horn cells or alpha motoneurons. An anterior horn cell with its innervated muscle fibers is called the motor…
To study the phenomenon of disease without books is to sail an uncharted sea, while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all. Sir William Osler Fundamentals The quotation from Sir William Osler in 1901…