Parkinson's Glossary

 

ParkinsonsHealth.com Glossary of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) Symptoms

 

Parashos, Sotirios; Wichmann, Rose. Navigating Life with Parkinson Disease (Neurology Now Books) . Oxford University Press, USA. Kindle Edition.

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Acetylcholine: One of the neurotransmitters.

Adaptive equipment: Tools, appliances, equipment, and related devices that are used to assist people with physical disabilities to complete activities of daily living.

 

Adjunct therapy: Use of treatments in addition to the primary mode of treatment, for example, the addition of a second PD therapy to either Carbidopa/Levodopa or other PD drug therapy.

 

Adrenaline: A hormone produced by the adrenal glands (small glands sitting on top of the kidneys). This chemical is used by some nerve cells of the autonomic nervous system to communicate with organs such as the heart, the gut, the skin, and the pupil of the eye.

 

Agoraphobia: A condition in which a person becomes very anxious or panicky in crowded situations or just on being outside their home.

 

Akinesia [A-kin-NEE-juh]: Lack of or loss of the ability to initiate movement.

 

Antioxidants: Chemicals or nutrients that scavenge free radicals, the toxic by-products of natural chemical processes that take place inside normal or diseased cells.

 

Antipsychotic drugs: Medications used to control psychotic symptoms (for example, hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia).

 

Apathy: Loss of interest, motivation, or emotional response.

Apraxia: Inability of the brain to plan, initiate, and execute certain tasks or even simple voluntary movements.

 

Atypical Parkinsonian Syndrome: A condition that resembles Parkinson’s but is caused by a different disease. The term is used when there is insufficient evidence to make a more precise diagnosis such as multiple system atrophy or progressive supranuclear palsy.

 

Autonomic nervous system: The part of the nervous system that controls automatic or involuntary functions of the body. In simple terms, these are functions that a person doesn’t have to think about, such as heartbeat, sweating, and the movements of our stomach and intestines.

 

Basal ganglia: Clumps of nerve cells deep inside the brain whose job is to work out the details of most voluntary actions. For example, when a movement is initiated, it is the job of the basal ganglia to ensure that the movement is accurate, smooth, and performed with adequate speed.

 

Benign tremulous parkinsonism: A form of Parkinson disease in which there is a lot of tremor but relatively little rigidity or bradykinesia.

 

Blood– brain barrier: A complex system of cells in the brain that control the entry and exit of chemicals and nutrients into and out of the brain.

 

Bradykinesia [bray-dee-kin-NEE-juh]: Slowness of movement.

 

Bradyphrenia [bray-dee-FREEN-ya]: Slowness of thinking.

 

Camptocormia: Crookedness of the trunk.

 

Carbidopa/Levodopa: A pill that contains both of these medications.

 

Carbidopa: A medication that blocks the breakdown of Levodopa outside the brain, thereby maximizing the amount of Levodopa that ends up in the brain and cutting back some of its side effects, such as nausea.

 

CBD: See Corticobasal degeneration.

 

Chorea: Involuntary and uncontrollable dancelike movements.

 

Clinical trial: A research study to answer specific questions about new medicines or new ways of using existing treatments. Also, called medical research, research studies, or clinical studies, clinical trials are used to determine whether new drugs or  treatments are both safe and effective.

 

Cognition: The combined functions of the brain that have to do with the thinking processes.

 

Cognitive dysfunction: A malfunction of the thinking processes of the brain.

 

COMT inhibitors: A group of anti-Parkinson drugs that work by blocking the breakdown of Levodopa, thereby prolonging its effectiveness.

 

Conservator: An individual appointed to be responsible for managing finances, assets, and income of an individual who is incapacitated (a protected person).

 

Corticobasal degeneration: A neurodegenerative disease that shares some features with Parkinson disease and may sometimes look like Parkinson disease.

 

DBS: See Deep-brain stimulation.

 

Deep brain stimulation(DBS): Delivery of an electrical signal to targeted areas in the brain that control movement using a surgically implanted, battery – operated medical device. This blocks the abnormal nerve signals that cause tremor and PD symptoms.

 

Dementia with Lewy bodies: A neurodegenerative disease that combines features of Parkinson disease with early dementia.

 

Dementia: Cognitive dysfunction that is sufficient to cause significant impairment in one’s day-to-day activities and is not due to a reversible cause. The most well-known dementia is Alzheimer disease, but dementia can be caused by many diseases, including Parkinson disease.

 

Diplopia: Double vision.

 

Disease modifying: A term used to describe medications that may alter the course of disease progression (ideally by slowing it down).

 

DLB: See Dementia with Lewy bodies.

 

DNA: The material of which genes are composed.

Dopamine: A neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, that transports signals to the parts of the brain that control movement.

 

Dopamine agonist: A drug that exerts its action by stimulating dopamine receptors.

 

Dopamine receptors: Proteins through which dopamine exerts its actions.

 

Dopaminergic neurons: Nerve cells that produce and use dopamine to communicate.

 

Dopaminergic: Using a dopamine-related mechanism.

 

Dosing schedule: The number of times a day that a medicine is taken and the amount of drug taken in each dose; may also include the clock time during the day that each dose is taken.

 

Dosing strength: The number of milligrams or grams of medicine in a tablet, pill, or capsule. Also called "dosing  strength."

 

Duodenum: The first part of the small intestine, immediately downstream from the stomach.

 

Dys-: A prefix used to mean difficult or abnormal.

 

Dysarthria: Slurred speech.

 

Dysautonomia: Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.

 

Dysexecutive syndrome: A type of cognitive dysfunction that affects executive functions of the brain, such as planning and organizing one’s actions, taking initiative, solving problems, managing different tasks simultaneously, and performing complex tasks that require multiple choreographed steps.

 

Dyskinesia [dis-kih-NEE-juh]: Abnormal, random, twisting, turning, involuntary movement, usually seen in the arms, legs, head, and trunk.

 

Dysphagia [dis-FAY-juh]: Difficulty swallowing.

 

Dysphonia: Difficulty with producing a strong or clear voice.

 

Dystonia: Abnormal, involuntary movement that results from the simultaneous contraction of muscle that have opposing actions. Dystonic movements are slow, cramped, and usually follow a repeating pattern. Alternatively, Dystonia is a disease characterized predominantly by Dystonic movements.

 

Emotional lability: Inability to control emotional outbursts, such as crying or laughing with very little provocation.

 

Executive function: The function of the brain that has to do with planning our actions, making decisions, directing our attention, stopping us from doing things we consider inappropriate, detecting and correcting mistakes, and making choices.

 

Exercise physiologist: A professional who specializes in the use of therapeutic exercise.

 

Feeding tube: A thin, flexible tube inserted into the stomach or the duodenum, usually through the nose and the esophagus, for the purpose of administering nutrition and medications in people who have lost their ability to swallow temporarily.

 

Free radicals: By -products of normal chemical processes that occur inside cells. Free radicals can cause oxidation, permanently damaging normal components inside cells, a process that has been considered central to the aging process and cell death. Normal cells have mechanisms to prevent this damage, and some nutritional supplements and vitamins can help. These “good chemicals” are called antioxidants.

Freezing, or freezing of gait (FOG): The sudden but temporary inability to move the legs and feet when walking; the sense that one’s feet are glued to the floor.

 

Frequency: In the context of Parkinson disease, this usually means having to urinate frequently.

 

Gastrostomy: A procedure in which a tube is inserted into the stomach or the duodenum through the skin of the abdomen, to provide a way to administer nutrients and medications to people who have lost their ability to swallow.

 

Gene: A portion of a cell’s DNA that contains the blueprint for the cell to build a specific protein.

 

Genome: The full list of all the genes in a species (for example, humans, dogs, rats, or monkeys).

 

Globus pallidus: A structure in the basal ganglia, often used as a target for deep-brain stimulation surgery in Parkinson’s.

 

Guardian: A person appointed for the purpose of managing the personal affairs of an individual who is incapacitated (a ward). A guardian is responsible for making personal decisions for the ward and for meeting the ward’s needs for medical care, nutrition, clothing, shelter, or safety.

Hallucinations: An abnormal sense perception unrelated to real events, such as seeing or hearing people or animals that are not there.

 

Health care directive: A written document, often also referred to as an advance directive, in which an individual appoints someone (a health care agent) to make health care decisions in the event that the individual cannot make them independently and to give instructions regarding health care.

 

Hereditary: Transmitted through the genes.

 

Hoehn & Yahr [HONE and YAR] scale: A 5-stage scale used by physicians and researchers to rate the level of disability and the severity of the symptoms caused by PD.

 

Hyper-: A prefix used to mean increased, excessive, or enhanced.

 

Hypersomnolence: Excessive sleepiness.

Hypophonia [hy-po-FO-nee-uh]: Reduced speech volume.

 

Hypo-: A prefix used to mean decreased, deficient, or suppressed.

 

Hypokinesia: Decreased mobility or movement.

 

Illusion: Misinterpretation of sensory stimuli. For example, a person might look at a bush and misinterpret it as a person crouching.

 

Impulse Control Disorder (ICD): ICDs are a reduced ability to control your impulses and to make good decisions about your impulses, such as impulses to spend, to eat, to pursue sexual interests, etc. ICDs include pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive buying, compulsive eating and kleptomania. ICDs can be associated with PD medications.

 

Insomnia: Sleeplessness.

 

Irrevocable trust: A trust that may not be changed or terminated after it has been established. It is a separate taxable entity, requiring its own tax identification number.

 

L-dopa: See Levodopa.

 

Lee Silverman Voice Treatment: A specialized speech therapy program to improve voice in Parkinson patients.

 

Levodopa: A drug that is the raw material for making dopamine.

 

Lewy body: A collection of damaged proteins inside nerve cells affected by Parkinson disease.

 

Living trust: A trust created during the grantor’s lifetime. Also called an inter vivos trust.

 

LSVT: See Lee Silverman Voice Treatment.

 

Magnetic resonance imaging: A scan of the brain using a high-power magnetic field.

 

MAO-B inhibitors: A class of anti-Parkinson medications that block one of the enzymes that breaks down dopamine.

 

Masked Facies [fay-SHEEZ]: In some people with PD, facial muscles no longer work properly causing facial expressions of emotions to be more difficult to make; facial expression of emotion for PD patients sometimes resembles a “mask”.

 

Micrographia: A symptom of Parkinson disease, where handwriting becomes small and difficult to read.

 

Mitochondria: Components of cells that specialize at extracting energy from oxygen.

 

Monotherapy: The use of a single therapy in the treatment of a disorder.

 

Motor symptoms: Symptoms having to do with movement and mobility. Symptoms of PD affecting movement.

 

Movement disorders specialist: A neurologist who specializes in Parkinson disease and other diseases that affect mobility and movement, such as Dystonia and Chorea.

MPTP: A chemical that kills dopamine neurons and can cause a Parkinson-like illness in people and monkeys.

 

MRI: See Magnetic resonance imaging.

 

Multiple systems atrophy: A neurodegenerative disease that combines features of Parkinson’s with early and prominent Dysautonomia or ataxia (a motor dysfunction similar to being drunk).

 

Myoclonus: Sudden, jerky, fast, and unpredictable involuntary movements.

 

Neurodegenerative: Related to premature death of neurons that does not result from a specific cause such as injury, chemicals, tumors, or strokes.

 

Neurogenic bladder: Urinary bladder dysfunction that results from a disease of the nervous system.

 

Neurologist: A medical specialist who specializes in diseases of the nervous system.

 

Neuron: A cell that conducts impulses and carries information from one part of the brain to another.

 

Neuroprotective: Protecting nerve cells from disease-related damage, or a drug that has this effect.

 

Neuropsychologist: A psychologist who specializes in assessing cognition.

 

Neurosurgeon: A surgeon who specializes in surgery of the brain and of nervous system structures in general.

 

Neurotoxin: A poison that affects nerve cells.

 

Neurotransmitter: 1. A naturally occurring substance produced by nerve cells and used to communicate with other nerve cells or organs. Dopamine, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and glutamate are some of the most important neurotransmitters in the brain. 2. The “battery pack” that generates the electrical stimulation in deep-brain stimulation.

 

Nocturia: The condition of having to urinate frequently at night.

 

Nonmotor symptoms: PD symptoms unrelated to movement.

 

Norepinephrine: One of the neurotransmitters.

 

Normal-pressure hydrocephalus: A condition where the abnormal accumulation of excess spinal fluid in the cavities of the brain (the ventricles) produces symptoms similar to those of Parkinson disease.

 

Nutritionist: A health care professional who specializes in proper nutrition.

 

Occupational therapist: A health care professional who helps people improve their abilities to perform their daily activities, from getting in and out of bed to bathing, showering, writing, cooking, using utensils, improving hand dexterity, and so on.

 

“On” time with Dyskinesia: A period of time when medication controls PD symptoms but also causes uncontrolled twisting, turning movements, called Dyskinesia.

 

“On” time: Time when PD medications successfully control symptoms.

 

On/off phenomenon: The occurrence of mostly unpredictable spells during which anti-Parkinson drugs lose their effectiveness.

 

Orthostatic hypotension (or postural hypotension): A significant drop in one’s blood pressure upon standing up that may lead to light-headedness or even fainting.

 

Pallidotomy: A type of DBS surgery, where the stimulating electrode is placed in the globus pallidus.

 

Pallidum: See Globus pallidus.

 

Parkin: A protein in neurons; mutations in the gene that is responsible for producing this protein causes genetic form of Parkinson’s.

 

Parkinson disease dementia: Dementia that may occur in the advanced stages of Parkinson disease.

 

Parkinson’s disease (PD): PD is a chronic progressive neurological disease that affects a small area of nerve cells (neurons) in an area of the brain known as the substantia nigra. These cells normally produce dopamine, a chemical (neurotransmitter) that transmits signals between areas in the brain that, when working normally, coordinate smooth and balanced muscle movement. Parkinson's disease causes these nerve cells to die, and as a result, body movements are affected.

 

Parkinsonism: A collection of symptoms in which a patient has a combination of tremor, stiffness, slowness and balance problems; the most common cause of parkinsonism is PD, but it can also be caused by other illnesses or certain medications.

 

Pathology: Abnormal changes that happen in tissues, organs, and cells as a result of illness or injury. Also, the medical specialty that deals with investigating such changes.

 

PD: Parkinson disease.

 

PDD: See Parkinson disease dementia.

 

Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy: A procedure to provide a way to administer nutrients and medications to people who have lost the ability to swallow. A tube is inserted into the stomach or the duodenum through the skin of the abdomen with the aid of a flexible “telescope” inserted in the stomach through the mouth and the esophagus.

 

Peripheral neuropathy (or polyneuropathy): A condition in which nerves are damaged that convey messages from the spinal cord to the muscles and other organs and that also bring information back to the spinal cord and brain (including sensations such as touch, pain, and temperature).

 

Physical therapist: A health care professional who helps patients with mobility, balance, or musculoskeletal problems through specific therapies and exercises and through other non-medication treatments, such as ultrasound, heat application, and special equipment.

 

Placebo: A “dummy” pill that contains no active drug but looks and tastes the same as one that does.

 

Postural instability: A decline in one’s ability to remain standing without losing their balance.

 

Power of attorney: A written document in which an individual (the principal), appoints another person (the attorney-in-fact) to handle property or finances.

 

Progressive supranuclear palsy: A neurodegenerative disease that can look very much like Parkinson’s, especially in its early stages.

 

Proteasome: A component of cells that recycles old or damaged proteins.

 

PSP: See progressive supranuclear palsy.

 

Psychiatrist: A medical specialist who diagnoses and treats diseases that present with emotional and behavioral symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, or schizophrenia.

 

Psychologist: A health care professional who diagnoses and treats psychiatric disorders through non-medication therapies.

 

Psychosis: A disorder in which patients have altered perceptions of reality. Examples include paranoia and schizophrenia.

 

RBD: See REM sleep behavior disorder.

 

REM sleep behavior disorder: A sleep disorder in which affected persons “act out” their dreams.

 

Resting tremor: A rhythmic shaking that is more obviously seen when the aff ected body part is at rest.

 

Restless leg syndrome (RLS): A condition that produces an intense, often irresistible urge to move the legs because of unpleasant sensations, usually while trying to sleep.

 

Revocable trust: A type of trust normally used for property management purposes. Such a trust may be changed, revoked, or terminated at any time during the lifetime of an individual as long as he or she is competent. After death, a revocable trust becomes irrevocable.

 

Rigidity: Stiffness in the muscles or resistance to movement.

 

Sensory symptoms: Abnormal sensations of numbness, tingling, pain, or changes in vision, hearing, taste or smell.

 

Serotonin: One of the neurotransmitters.

 

Social worker: A professional who can assist patients with understanding insurance and disability issues, getting help in the community and finding the right living situation (such as assisted living or a nursing home).

 

Speech pathologist: A health care professional who provides therapies for speech, voice, and swallowing problems.

 

Stereotaxic surgery: A type of brain surgery where a sophisticated technique is used to place probes or wires in deep parts of the brain with great precision and without extensive cutting through the brain.

 

Striatum: One of the basal ganglia structures.

 

Substantia nigra [sub-STAN-shuh-NIGH-gruh]: One of the movement control centers in the brain where loss of dopamine-producing cells triggers PD symptoms. The basal ganglia structure that contains the dopamine neurons.

 

Subthalamic nucleus: A structure in the basal ganglia, often used as a target for deep-brain stimulation surgery in Parkinson’s.

 

Synuclein: A protein in found in neurons; mutations in the gene that is responsible for producing this protein cause a genetic form of Parkinson’s. Synuclein is one of the proteins that accumulate in Lewy bodies.

 

Testamentary trust: A trust created by the terms of the grantor’s will.

 

Thalamotomy: A surgical procedure used to control tremor. It consists of making a controlled small lesion, like a mini-stroke, in a part of the brain called the thalamus, in order to “reset” the circuits in the brain that are responsible for the generation of the tremors.

 

Thalamus: A cluster of cells in the deep parts of the brain with many “relay” functions, including transmission of motor and sensory signals. It can be seen as the central switchboard of the brain.

 

Tremor: Trembling or shakiness in a body part such as the hands, legs, arms, head, or voice. Resting tremor, trembling in a limb when it is not moving, is the most common symptom of PD. Tremors are unilateral, meaning they usually begin on one side of the body.

 

Ubiquitin: A protein in found in neurons; Ubiquitin is one of the proteins that accumulate in Lewy bodies.

 

Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS):  A scale use by physicians to assign a numerical rating to the various symptoms of PD and to determine the severity of the disease. Used most often in clinical trials in order to gauge the effectiveness of a treatment by measuring UPDRS scores at the initiation of a trial and again after the administration of a new treatment.

 

UPDRS: See Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale.

 

Urgency: A sensation that one has to urinate immediately.

 

Video swallowing assessment: A modified X-ray that assesses the swallowing function.

 

Wearing off: The loss of anti-Parkinson effect toward the end of the interval between medication doses.

 

Will: A set of written instructions outlining how an individual wishes to have her or his assets distributed upon death.