MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Abstract: In the United States alone, up to 1 million people are affected by Parkinson’s disease with 60,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is caused by the degeneration of the substantia nigra and leads to decreased dopamine levels. There is currently no cure for the disease, but patients are offered a number of treatments to manage their symptoms. In this patient guide, I will discuss the three most common and effective treatments a patients: pharmaceutical medication, physical therapy, and deep brain stimulation. For each of these treatments, I have integrated numerous studies and websites into the guide to provide sufficient evidence for their relative success. The combination of Levodopa and Carbidopa is the most popular medication and increases dopamine levels. Physical therapy is meant to improve balance and strength. Deep brain stimulation is the most novel of the three and involves the surgical implantation of a neurostimulator into the damaged portion of the brain. The neurostimulator produces controlled electrical signals that help manage the more prevalent symptoms found in Parkinson’s. Each treatment also possesses potential adverse effects which will be addressed in the guide. In addition, the most effective treatment is a combination of two or more of these. Although each treatment has shown relative success, the best plan utilizes more than one treatment at a time. Overall, this guide will be for Parkinson’s patients and their family members and will provide a comprehensive outline of the available treatments and their level of success.

Reader’s Profile: I imagine the reader to be a family member that is wary of/against utilizing deep brain stimulation. In their opinion, the entire process is entirely too dangerous for someone of that age to be undergoing.

Reader’s Response: I think that using deep brain stimulation is too dangerous. The process requires neural surgery which I think is extremely dangerous for someone of this age. Also, doesn’t the surgery itself introduce a whole host of other problems such as surgical infections, the neurostimulator becoming loose, or even a decline in quality of life? In addition, what makes deep brain stimulation a better solution than the medication (Levodopa/Carbidopa) my family member is on? The studies that you incorporated do not provide any definitive success in comparison to those regarding pharmaceuticals.

MP -- one aspect to use to support the idea of safety of DBS is that this therapy is used for many disorders other than P: otherwise-treatment-resistant movement and affective disorders such as Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia, chronic pain, major depression and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).

You can address the safety of this technique with these other populations.

Does that help with your difficult reader?

What citation type? Formal APA? Single phrases with natural language/sentencing citation.