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Anatomy of Disease

During the first unit of Disease, we looked into the eleven main body systems and analyzed the different types of diseases that could affect them, researched types of cancers and their treatments, and discovered the makeup of blood. As a part of our unit, we visited the You! The Experience exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry to view the body systems in an isolated form. We also learned the mathematical concept of completing the square to break quadratic equations into an x= format. For our action project, we had to conduct an interview with a family member with a disease. I chose to interview a member of my family who is diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. In class, I drew an outline of a body to display the different body systems that are affected and how Parkinson’s affects them. 

Patient Profile:

My family member was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in July of 2012. She is 76 and lives in the suburbs of Chicago. She started noticing her symptoms when my step-grandfather, Bill, pointed out that her right thumb would move involuntarily, “I was not even aware of the movement in my thumb.” She made an appointment with a movement neurologist and given a DAT- scan. A DAT-scan involves injecting a noninvasive scanner into the bloodstream and uses radiation to mark brain cells that carry dopamine transporters and measure the levels of dopamine in the brain. I asked her if they do comparison scans to measure the progress of the disease, and she said no because the procedure is costly. “It’s very strange because one day it can just blow up or just progressively get worse.” Some symptoms she experiences is stiffness while walking, joint pain, and tremors. The joint pain she experiences is mainly in her back, hips, and neck. Bill worries about her often due to the cognitive toll Parkinson’s has taken on her due to medicine she is prescribed. Since Parkinson’s reduces the levels of dopamine in the brain, her medication works to reverse that. However, due to her prescription being too high of a dosage, she began to hallucinate.

Since her diagnosis, Mary Ann has had trouble getting up in the morning from stiffness in her back and legs. To treat her Parkinson’s, she has been prescribed Levodopa, Carbidopa, and Azilect. Her treatment includes taking three tablets of Levodopa and Carbidopa and one of the Azilect. Levodopa is used to elevate the levels of dopamine in the brain, while Carbidopa prevents the Levodopa from breakdown in the blood. Azilect is supposed to be able to control the tremors, stiffness, and movement. These three medications are very commonly prescribed to patients with Parkinson’s. She feels that she has been lucky so far that she does not experience often falling like many who have Parkinson’s. Though to her, it is unknown if there a cause for her case, her doctors told her it was not hereditary. There are also no other known family members that have or had Parkinson’s. When asked how Parkinson’s affects her daily life, she said: “I have not had any of the crazy full-blown stuff, like most people experience, but it is hanging over my head.” However, she does have trouble walking far due to the pain she has. During our interview, Mary starts to address her daughter, Kris, who was listening in on our discussion, “Kris, did you know that I had all this? I don’t really ever talk about it. The scariest part is that you never know what it is going to happen to you.”

Parkinson’s classifies as a disorder of the central nervous system, which is caused by nerve cell damage. It can often start with a tremor in one hand, like in my grandmother’s case. In many cases of Parkinson’s, patients have trouble swallowing, always falling over, and experience dystonia which is the involuntary contractions of the muscles that cause the repetitive and twitching movements. The risk factors for Parkinson’s include being over the age of 60 years, having close relatives who are diagnosed with it, or exposure to certain toxins or chemicals all make you susceptible to develop Parkinson’s later on in life. Parkinson’s affects  2 in every 1000 people at a given time; it is also non-communicable. During testing, people with the disorder tend to have low levels of dopamine in the brain. Parkinson’s can also cause patients to experience depression or anxiety. Since Parkinson’s is the result of neurons in the brain dying, the goal with treatment is to slow the process of nerve cell damage. 


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