Skip main navigation

New offer! Get 30% off your first 2 months of Unlimited Monthly. Start your subscription for just £35.99 £24.99. New subscribers only T&Cs apply

Find out more

Introduction to week 4

Parkinson´s disease is another very common neurological disorder. One of the main sympstoms is tremor we will know why...
15.4
Parkinson’s disease is another of the best known neurodegenerative diseases. And it is in this pathology in which we are going to deepen this week. Probably upon hearing Parkinson’s disease, one of its best known symptoms,tremor, comes to mind. But there are many others that can develop during the progression of the disease, the most remarkable are the motor symptoms, but also others such as sleep problems, low blood pressure or gastrointestinal dismotility. In this way, we will learn which brain areas are affected, and, therefore, responsible for the effects that the progression of this disease has on patients. In this case, as we have said, movement is very important, so we are going to study the so-called “movement circuit” or “basal ganglia circuit”.
64.5
Who does it affect? Are there factors that facilitate the onset of pathology? Or is there a genetic component? These are some of the questions we will answer in the first part of the week. Another important aspect, which we want to address, of course, is what treatment options do patients have right now. In this pathology very innovative therapies are being developed, not only based on pharmacological treatments, but also on surgical interventions. So it will be interesting to know the latest advances in both basic and clinical research, well as palliative treatments that may be necessary to improve the quality of life of patients.
110.6
Finally, remind you that this week will be at your disposal the complementary material on the main pathogenic events that are developed in neurodegenerative diseases. This week we will discuss inflammation, oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage in detail. This material is not part of the content to be evaluated, so it will be useful to those students who want to deepen their knowledge of neurodegerative diseases.

During this week, Dra Concepción García, will help you to learn a little more about Parkinson´s disease. It is another very common neurological disorder. One of the main sympstoms is tremor and we will know why.

This article is from the free online

Ageing and The Brain: The Impact of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now