Question

Eli McMillan, a 48-year man, is talking to his doctor about the symptoms he is experiencing. He states that when he goes for his morning jog, his legs feel weak and tired. He is having problems with simple tasks that require manual dexterity such as writing or unlocking doors. Upon examination, the doctor observes some atrophy of the muscles of Eli's legs, forum, and hands. He also notes that Eli is having a slight problem with his speech.

Questions:

1. What disorder do think Eli might be developing?

2. Why might Eli be experiencing muscle weakness and atrophy?

3. What is the cause of this condition?

4. What is the prognosis for an individual with this condition?

Answer 1

1) Eli might be developing Parkinson's disease.

2) Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder and it slowly destructs the brain cells. The area of brain controlling movements is affected. Over the time, slowness of the movements occurs(bradykinesia) and it takes long time to perform even a simple task. The muscular stiffness occurs because of increased muscle tone which occurs due to removal of inhibitory influence on gamma motor neurons.

3) the cause of this condition is due to lack of dopamine caused by lack of dopamine which occurs due to damage of basal ganglia due to many reasons like cerebral arteriosclerosis, cerebral encephalitis etc.

4) the prognosis is that most people respond to medications i.e, levo dopa along with carbidopa. However the degree of responsiveness and efficacy differs from person to person. Life expectancy of these people is normal or near to normal ones. However eli is middle aged and hence may be his life span would be same as normal ones.