1. Parkinson disease is marked by a lack of which chemical in the brain?

A. Serotonin
B. GABA
C. Dopamine
D. Norepinephrine

Answer: C

The brain-signaling chemical dopamine is one of many neurotransmitters in the brain. It is made by cells in the brain stem. These cells release dopamine, which helps control muscle movement. The shortage of dopamine is caused by the breakdown of neurons in the area of the brain that controls movement. The breakdown of the neurons does not stop and gets worse.

2. How many Americans are affected by Parkinson disease?

A. 100,000 people
B. 200,000 people
C. 500,000 people
D. 1 million people

Answer:D
About 60,000 new cases are reported each year, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

3. What is the average age when Parkinson disease first appears?

A. 25
B. 50
C. 60
D. 75

Answer:C
It is rare among people younger than 40, and the incidence rises with age. It is slightly more common in men than in women, according to the NINDS.

4. What is often the first symptom of Parkinson disease?

A. Headache
B. Nausea
C. Shaking of a hand or foot
D. Turning of the head

Answer:C
About 7 in 10 people with Parkinson first have a slight tremor in a hand or foot, according to the Parkinson Foundation. The tremor usually occurs when the muscles are at rest and relaxed. It usually appears on one side of the body. Later it may spread to the other side of the body, but to a lesser degree. Common symptoms as the disease gets worse include:

• Slowness of movement
• Rigid or stiff muscles
• A shuffling gait
• A stooped posture

Secondary symptoms include:

• Changes in speech
• Loss of facial expression (called “flat effect”)
• Difficulty swallowing
• Drooling
• Dementia
• Sleep problems
• Depression
• Memory difficulties and slowed thinking
• Sexual dysfunction
• Fatigue and aching
• Urinary problems

5. How is Parkinson disease diagnosed?

A. With a blood test
B. With a neurological exam
C. With an X-ray
D. All of the above

Answer:B
It’s difficult to diagnose in the early stages. No test currently exists that can diagnose Parkinson. Usually, a neurologist makes the diagnosis by evaluating the symptoms and how serious they are, as well as the results of a neurological exam. The person should also see a specialist in movement disorders to make sure the correct diagnosis is made. A brain scan can help find out if the person has Parkinson or a disease with similar symptoms. Sometimes medicines used to treat Parkinson are given to the person to see if the symptoms improve.

6. How is Parkinson disease treated?

A. Medicine
B. Surgery
C. Radiation
D. A and B

Answer:D
Parkinson has no cure, but the symptoms often can be improved with medicine and sometimes with surgery. Treatment varies greatly from person to person. It depends on whether the symptoms are mild, moderate, or severe. Levodopa is a medicine that is often prescribed. It is converted to dopamine in the brain. It helps replace the dopamine that the brain no longer makes. Other medicines act like dopamine in the brain, and others that keep dopamine from being destroyed so more of it is available. It is common for a person with Parkinson to take more than one medicine. Possible surgeries include implanting neurostimulators, pallidotomy, and transplanting stem cells.

7.What does the body’s nervous system control?

A. The five senses
B. Body weight
C. Body temperature
D. All of the above

Answer:A
The body’s central nervous system (CNS) controls the five senses. The CNS is made up of your brain and spinal cord. The brain is what interprets our external environment, houses our thoughts and ideas, and controls our body movements. It acts like a central computer for our five senses, interpreting information from our eyes (sight), ears (sound), nose (smell), tongue (taste), and skin (touch), as well as other sensations from internal organs such as the stomach.

The spinal cord is the connection from the body to the brain, transmitting the signals our body receives to the brain, which then interprets them to make sense of our world. When the spinal cord is injured, this interrupts that communication.

8.What causes Parkinson’s disease?

A. A severe blood infection
B. Loss of the brain chemical dopamine
C. Stroke
D. Depression

Answer:B
Parkinson’s disease is the result of the loss of the brain chemical dopamine. When nerve cells, called neurons, in an area of the brain that controls movement become impaired and/or die, the amount of dopamine they normally produce decreases. This loss of dopamine causes the movement problems seen in people with PD

9.There are _____ stages of Parkinson’s disease.

A. 2
B. 4
C. 5
D. 7

Answer:C
There are five stages of Parkinson’s disease, described with the most commonly used Hoehn and Yahr scale:

– Stage one: Symptoms such as tremors or shaking on one side of the body
– Stage two: Tremors or shaking one or both sides of the body; possible imbalance
– Stage three: Noticeable balance impairment and slowing of motion
– Stage four: Severe symptoms, disability; patient likely needs assistance
– Stage five: Patient may be bedridden or wheelchair bound; needs constant care

Another scale that may be used to describe symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is called the Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). It is a four-part scale that measures motor movement in PD: non-motor experiences of daily living, motor experiences of daily living, motor examination, and motor complications.

9.What are Lewy bodies?

A. Protein deposits found in the brain
B. Pockets of air found in the brain
C. Microscopic crystalline matter found in the brain
D. A build-up of salt found in the brain

Answer:A
Lewy bodies are abnormal protein deposits found in the brain. Researchers do not know exactly why Lewy bodies form or what role they may play in Parkinson’s disease, but they seem to be linked to certain types of dementia associated with both PD and Alzheimer’s disease. Lewy body dementia is a degenerative disease and symptoms range from parkinsonian symptoms such as bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and shuffling walk, to symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer’s disease (memory loss, poor judgment, and confusion). Symptoms may fluctuate, even from day to day. In later stages patients may develop hallucinations.

10.Parkinson’s disease leads to overactivity of the

A. Subthalamic nucleus.
B. Motor cortex.
C. Cerebellum.
D. Substantia nigra pars compacta

Answer:A