Parkinson’s Disease Case Study
Subjective
Medical History
Ms. BN is a 54 yr old Caucasian female that has been diagnosed with idiopathic PD for 2 yr. She lives at home in a two-story house with her husband and dog. She works for a nearby university in the billing department and is up and about 8-10 h of the day.
Ms. BN experiences PD symptoms including a slight tremor in her left hand and minor upper body rigidity. Her tremor gets worse when she is frustrated. She used to exercise regularly (mainly cardiovascular—walking, jogging), but over the past year she started experiencing weakness and fatigue, so she no longer exercises regularly. During this time she also noticed that she involuntarily began taking short, shuffling steps and periodically had some gait “freezing.” More recently she has complained to her husband about experiencing lightheadedness upon standing, and one time he had to assist her getting out of the recliner chair so that she did not fall. Because of her weakness, fatigue, and unpredictable lightheadedness, she has been forced to reduce her social outings. Her muscular strength and endurance are normal, and she is optimistic about exercising again, just nervous because of her progressive symptoms.
Objective and Laboratory Data