Ashley Court of
Brighton
7400 Challis Road, Brighton, Michigan 48116
Ph: (810) 225-7400 Fax: (810) 225-8281
(Located next to Mt. Brighton Ski Resort)
Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system, which affects more than one million Americans. Individuals with PD lack the substance dopamine, which is important for the central nervous system's control of muscle activity. Parkinson's disease is often characterized by tremors, stiffness in limbs and joints, speech impediments and difficulty in initiating physical movement. Late in the course of the disease, some patients develop dementia and eventually, Alzheimer's disease. Conversely, some Alzheimer's patients develop symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Medications such as levlodopa, which converts itself into dopamine once inside the brain and deprenyl, which prevents degeneration of dopamine-containing neurons, are used to improve diminished or reduced motor symptoms in PD patients but do not correct the mental changes that occur.
