A Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali: Parkinson’s Disease

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

An overview of Parkinson’s disease
The components of Parkinson’s disease
Conclusion
Reference List

An overview of Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease was first named and described in 1817 by James Parkinson. It is considered to be degenerative and affects the nervous system of the body. It has been found to affect the cognitive functioning of the victim’s contrary to the earlier belief that it was only affecting the nerves. Some specific symptoms/effects are associated with the disease and the major effect is the loss of brain cells from a specific region of the brain that is associated with the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Associated symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are marked tremors (motor symptoms) while both active and resting, rigidity or stiffness in the muscles (especially the neck and legs), facial and throat muscles’ weakness, difficulties in talking and/or speech and swallowing, gait disturbances, bradykinesia (a condition that shows slowness in goal-directed movements), instability in posture and poor balance, problems in digestion and urinating, disturbance while sleeping, and fatigue amongst others (D’haenen, Johan and Paul, 2002, p.301; Ebadi and Ronald, 2005, p. 16; Pahwa and Kelly, 2007, p.53; Hansell and Damour, 2008, p.50). A good number of the victims suffering from Parkinson’s disease develop dementia. Dementia affects memory progressively, attention, language, and the ability to solve problems. However, there are people who despite developing some related symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, do not display all the symptoms discussed above. This is a condition that is referred to as Parkinsonism or pseudo-Parkinsonism which is more related to traumas in the head that have accumulated. Pseudo-Parkinsonism also displays similar symptoms, though not all as Parkinson’s disease. This study seeks to examine the biological, cognitive, emotional and, behavioral components of Parkinson’s disease in relation to a boxing Legend, Mohammad Ali, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1983, which had started as Pseudo-Parkinsonism.

The components of Parkinson’s disease

Biological

From the case study of Mohammad Ali, Parkinson’s disease is not genetically associated, but rather it results from prolonged trauma and injuries in the head (brains). The disease affects the normal biological functioning of the body. Some of the affected areas are the digestive systems and the excretion systems, especially the urination system of the victim.

The major biological component, however, is the motor symptom. This is the one that is associated with tremors of the body by the patient suffering from this disease. In our case, Mohammad Ali did develop severe tremors after he had retired from boxing. According to Fisher (2007, p.311), the motor handicap grows with the severity of Parkinson’s disease. He noted that this occurs due to the loss of dopamine transporter, as the part of the brain that produces the neurotransmitter dopamine is damaged. With the severity of the disease, the motor handicap (tremors) is more severe.

Emotional

The emotional component of Parkinson’s disease, as noted by Ebadi and Ronald (2005, p.16), the patients who had strong emotional problems tended to develop symptoms of the Parkinson’s disease later, and in a more persistent manner. From our case study, Mohammad Ali was such a person and this is evident when at the age of twelve, his bicycle was stolen, and he told the police officer that he would beat up whoever had stolen his (Ali’s) bicycle. Ebadi and Ronald also noted that as the disease gets severe, and tremors are more frequent, emotional upsets do accompany these tremors occasionally. According to Goldman (2000, p.54), emotions are one way of showing/dealing with pain. This kind of emotion is depicted in the way Ali is confronted with the white gang after the maltreatment he got in a “whites only” restaurant. Getting emotional due to the racism that was present in America was a way he knew how to deal with pain just as he had done when his bicycle was stolen. Anger was the result of these emotions.

Behavioral

The behavioral component is related to the emotional component. The emotions of a person dictate the behavior that results thereof. For example, the behavior that Ali portrays when dealing with emotions – to fight – as a way of dealing with pain. Again, as Parkinson’s disease gets severe there is a change in behavior that accompanies it. Things like postural disorders are explained as behavioral components by some scholars (Pfeifer, Ronald and Ivan, 2005, p.1). They continue to note that this is the so-called behavior abnormality in patients with Parkinson’s disease. In our case, Ali’s abnormal behavior includes unstable posture, tremors, unintelligible speech amongst others, which he is currently having as a result of severe Parkinson’s disease

Cognitive

The cognitive functioning of the mind is affected by Parkinson’s disease in that the patient starts to be slow. For our case, Ali’s brain had deteriorated as a result of prolonged fighting, so it was reported. An incoherence and slurring in his speech which he admitted were some of the indications of brain damages he suffered. He had also deteriorated effective boxing in the ring, which can be attributed to loss of good coordination, which comes from the brain (D’haenen, Johan and Paul, 2002, p.301). This is due to a lack of cognitive flexibility by the patient. These are clear indications that Parkinson’s disease affects the cognitive aspect of the patient. The continuous brain traumas from Pseudo-Parkinsonism are also responsible for this condition of cognitive inflexibility. As a result, the patient (Ali) started to underperform in his boxing fights as the coordination was poor.

Conclusion

Parkinson’s disease is a condition that is degenerative and affects the nervous system of the body. It also affects the cognitive structure of the mind as it destroys the brain cells responsible for the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This leads to behavioral abnormality from the patient as a symptom of a lack of cognitive flexibility. The patient, therefore, develops slurred or unintelligent speech, slowness, and tremors which deteriorate with the severity of the disease. Parkinson’s disease has emotional, biological, behavioral and, cognitive components. Emotions that are perceived to be strong, as a way of dealing with pain, may lead to the development of Parkinson’s disease symptoms and in a more persistent manner. Again, emotions do accompany tremors occasionally in the cases of Parkinson’s disease. The biological component is concerned with the tremors and the motor symptoms that are found with the patients. The behavioral, which is related to the emotional component, is concerned with the abnormality in the behavior of the patient. Lastly, the cognitive component relates to the inflexibility in the cognitive structure of the mind resulting from the destruction of the brain cells. A condition with almost all the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, called Pseudo-Parkinson is normally diagnosed before Parkinson’s disease, which results later.

Reference List

D’haenen, H. A. H., Johan, A. B. and Paul, W. (2002). Biological Psychiatry. Volume 1. West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons.
Ebadi, M. S. and Ronald, P. (2005). Parkinson’s Disease. New York: CRC Press.
Fisher, A. (2007). Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease: Progress and New Perspectives. 8^th Ed. London: Karger Publishers.
Goldman, H. H. (2000). Review of General Psychiatry. 5^th Ed. London: McGraw-Hill Professional.
Hansell, J. and Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology. 2^nd Ed. New Jersey: Willey.
Pahwa, R. and Kelly, E. L. (2007). Handbook of Parkinson’s Disease. New York: CRC Press.

Click Here To Order Now!

A Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali: Parkinson’s Disease

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)