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Article: Pathophysiology and management of idiopathic Parkinson's disease.
- Article from:
- Journal of Neuroscience Nursing
- Article date:
- February 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 American Association of Neuroscience Nurses. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
Parkinson's disease is a progressive degenerative disease of the nervous system which eventually leads to disability. Idiopathic parkinsonism refers to the presence of a characteristic constellation of symptoms, tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and impairment of righting reflexes,[6] and pathologic changes, including the loss of pigmented neurons and the presence of Lewy bodies in the substantia nigra[9] with no identifiable cause. The same features may be referred to as secondary parkinsonism when there is a known cause of injury to the basal ganglia by cerebrovascular disease, drugs, infections, trauma or toxins. Parkinsonian syndromes include ...