Trisakti University of Medicine
I Made Setiadji
030.09.114
Jakarta, June 14th 2012
Abstract
A majority of Parkinson's disease patients had insufficient levels of vitamin D. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common form of neurodegeneration in the elderly population. In PD, one's levels of dopamine are lowered because the nerve cells which make the chemical have either died or lost their usual functioning. Clinically, it is characterized by tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural imbalance. The correlation located in vitamin D deficiency can cause PD, or PD can cause vitamin D deficiency. A significant association between low serum vitamin D and PD has been demonstrated, suggesting that elevated vitamin D levels might provide neuroprotection against PD. An evidence suggests that vitamin D supplementation may be beneficial for PD patients.
Key word: Parkinson’s Disease, vitamin D, neurodegeneration, and neuroprotection.
Introduction
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a movement disorder characterized by tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural imbalance. …show more content…
Nerve cells in this part of the brain are responsible for producing a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine acts as a messenger between the brain and the nervous system, and helps control and co-ordinate body movements. If these nerve cells become damaged or die, the amount of dopamine in the brain is reduced. This means that the part of the brain controlling movement cannot work so well, which causes movements to become slow and abnormal. The loss of nerve cells is a slow process. The level of dopamine in the brain falls over time. Only when 80% of the nerve cells in the substantia nigra have been lost will the symptoms of Parkinson's disease appear and gradually become more