Structural and Thermodynamic Studies of Synuclein Proteins Related to Parkinson’s Disease: - Metallic Systems: A Quantum Chemist's Perspective - page 30

already.known.about.Parkinson's.disease.will.make.clear.why.the.avenue.of.research.
discussed.in.this.chapter.may.aid.in.the.search.for.the.cause.of.this.disease.
Every.year,.approximately.50,000.new.cases.of.Parkinson's.disease.are.diagnosed..
However,.it.is.estimated.that.many.more.people.are.affected.by.this.disease. 12 .The.
average.age.of.onset.for.Parkinson's.disease.is.60.years,.but.many.people.frequently.
go.years.with.either.an.incorrect.diagnosis.or.without.realizing.they.have.the.disease.
because.the.symptoms.are.often.associated.with.normal.aging..There.is.no.deinitive.
test.to.determine.if.a.patient.actually.has.Parkinson's.disease;.instead,.a.diagnosis.is.
obtained.from.a.combination.of.medical.history.and.a.neurological.examination. 12,13 .
Tests.such.as.magnetic.resonance.imaging.(MRI).and.computed.tomography.(CT).
scans.are.performed.to.rule.out.other.diseases.with.symptoms.similar.to.Parkinson's.
disease,.as.brain.scans.of.those.affected.often.appear.normal.in.the.beginning.stages.
of.the.disease..Unfortunately,.the.progression.and.development.of.the.disease.varies.
from.person.to.person,.making.it.even.harder.to.diagnose. 13
The.irst.recorded.case.of.Parkinson's.disease.was.documented.in.1817.by.James.
Parkinson,.after.whom.the.disease.was.later.named,.in.“An.Essay.on.the.Shaking.
Palsy.” 14 .The.symptoms.described.in.his.paper.are.still.the.symptoms.considered.to.
be.the.hallmark.of.this.debilitating.disease..Hand.tremors,.limb.rigidity,.bradykine-
sia.(slowness.of.movement),.and.postural.instability.(impaired.balance).are.the.four.
most.common.symptoms.observed.among.all.Parkinson's.disease.patients. 12 .These.
symptoms.cause.those.affected.with.this.disease.to.be.unable.to.perform.even.the.
simplest. tasks. as. the. disease. continues. to. progress.. Patients. are. not. only. affected.
by.well-known.external.symptoms,.but.may.also.suffer.from.pain,.dementia,.sleep.
disturbances,. depression,. fatigue,. and. memory. dificulties. 12 . Although. the. average.
onset.occurs.at.60.years,.there.are.several.cases.of.early.onset.(before.the.age.of.50).
and.even.juvenile.parkinsonism.(onset.at.approximately.20.years.old). 12 .Current.sta-
tistics.also.show.that.on.average.more.men.than.women.are.affected.by.Parkinson's.
disease. 12
This.disease.affects.not.only.the.patient,.but.the.caregivers.as.well..Often.family.
members. of. patients. are. the. primary. caregivers,. and. in. some. instances,. depend-
ing.on.the.severity.of.the.disease,.may.spend.in.excess.of.40.h.per.week.caring.for.
affected.family.members. 15 .This.level.of.care.can.have.many.adverse.effects.beyond.
the.amount.of.time.required,.such.as.lower.income.due.to.time.lost.from.work.and.
increased.medical.expenses..Some.statistics.have.shown.that.caregivers.suffer.from.
higher.levels.of.stress. 15 .As.the.“baby.boomer”. generation. approaches. the.average.
age. for. onset. of. this. disease,. more. and. more. people. will. be. affected,. either. as. a.
patient.or.as.a.caregiver.
Although. there. are. many. hypotheses. on. the. cause. of. Parkinson's. disease. cur-
rently.being.investigated,.the.underlying.cause.remains.a.mystery..The.hypotheses.
being. investigated. are. varied. and. it. may. ultimately. prove. to. be. a. combination. of.
these. hypotheses. that. results. in. a. full. understanding. of. Parkinson's. disease.. The.
current.hypotheses.being.investigated.include.increased.nigral.iron, 16 .mitochondrial.
dysfunction, 17 . changes. in. antioxidant. systems, 18 . neuromelanin/iron. interaction, 19 .
α-synuclein/iron. interaction, 16 . protein. aggregation, 20 . Lewy. body. formation, 4 . and.
oxidative.stress. 21 .All.of.these.factors,.or.a.combination.of.several.factors,.may.lead.