Essay Unit 14 - Physiological Disorders and their Care
11 views 0 purchase
Course
Unit 14 - Physiological Disorders and their Care
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
I wrote this essay for my health and social care BTEC course at college and received a distinction*. I cover all the areas needed to achieve top grades. In my coursework, I have used Rheumatoid Arthritis & Parkinson's disease.
P1, P2, P3, P4
M1, M2, M3
D1 , D2
In this assignment, I will be addressing the causes, signs and symptoms of physiological disorders and
how these impact service users as individuals. I will also be looking at treatments and support
available for patients and justifying these.
P1- rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
Physiological disorders are conditions which affect the normal functioning of the human body. There
are many physiological disorders such as diabetes, cancer and asthma. However, I will be focusing on
rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s disease in this assignment.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a specific branch of arthritis which affects over 400,000 people in the UK. It is
an auto-immune disorder, effecting the muscular-skeletal system, which is otherwise known as a
‘joint disease’. This is because the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the healthy tissue of the
joints, cartilage and bones of patients rather than germs/viruses in their system. This disorder can
affect any joints in the body, however, it most commonly affects the knees, ankles, wrists and hands
and usually affects both sides of the body symmetrically. This leads to the restriction of body
movement as it damages and deforms the musculoskeletal system gradually, and more intensely,
over time as the condition progresses due to long-term inflammation.
The exact cause of this chronic inflammatory disease is unknown, but some triggering factors may
include: the age of individuals as it is more common in older patients (50+); obesity; previous family
history; smoking tobacco; gender (due to hormone differences of oestrogen, it is 3x more common in
women), etc.
There are many symptoms for professionals to look out for when looking out for and diagnosing this
condition. Some of these include, pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints of individuals, which is
usually worse in the morning and gradually improves throughout the day. These inflamed joints may
appear red and be warm to the touch as well as tender. This is most commonly in wrists, hands and
feet but doctors must be aware that they can appear in many other joints in the body. Other- more
general- symptoms may include tiredness, weight loss, a poor appetite, a high temperature and
sweating. Inflammation can also sometimes cause eye dryness (if eyes are effected) and chest pain (if
heart or lungs are effected).
P1- Parkinson’s disease (PD)
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic progressive disorder in which parts of the brain get increasingly
damaged over time, damaging the nervous system. This is caused by a loss of nerve cells in a part of
the midbrain called the substantia nigra. The neurotransmitter, dopamine, acts as messenger
between the brain and the nervous system, helping to co-ordinate bodily movements. When these
nerve cells in the substantia nigra become damaged or die, dopamine production decreases and so
the area of the brain controlling movement can no longer work like normal and movement becomes
slower and irregular.
,Similar to rheumatoid arthritis, the exact cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown despite ongoing
research into the loss of nerve cells associated with the condition. However, it is thought that it is
caused by a combination of genetic (faulty genes in the family) and environmental factors (such as
pesticides and herbicides used in farm the industry as well as traffic/industrial pollution). However,
evidence for the environmental factors is inconclusive.
Despite this, there is a broad term of Parkinsonism which holds other related conditions (not just
Parkinson’s disease. This broad term just related the symptoms of tremors, muscle rigidity, and slow
movement. There are many, much rarer, branches of Parkinsonism such as drug induced
parkinsonism which develops during treatment of certain drugs such as some antipsychotics,
however, symptoms usually pass once drug is stopped being taken.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease only tend to appear when the patient has lost a severe amount of
nerve cells already (around 50%). These tend to begin as mild and increasingly become more severe.
This demonstrates how slow of a process it is and how it can often go unnoticed for years. Some of
these signs and symptoms may include: tremors, which usually begin in the hand or arm (especially
when relaxing) but can also occur in the jaw, legs and face; slowness of moving (bradykinesia),
muscle stiffness (rigidity); poor balance and coordination; speech difficulty. Other more general
symptoms that can accompany Parkinson’s disease are fatigue, depressed mood, anxiousness, etc.
M1- Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder which is caused by the immune system mistakenly
attacking healthy tissues in the body. Some studies show that because the immune system in
patients with RA is busy attacking the healthy tissues, they are 2 times more likely to develop
infections compared to the general population. Some medications used to treat RA also has been
shown to suppress the immune system and so may also increase the risk of infection in these
patients. Therefore, patients with rheumatoid arthritis are more at risk of infection.
Rheumatoid arthritis can damage the way many bodily systems function. For example, the
cardiovascular/circulatory system can become damaged due to chronic inflammation in the body,
potentially leading to coronary heart disease. This inflammation can cause plaque to build up in the
arteries, narrowing the blood vessels. If these become blocked, a heart attack or stroke can occur.
CHD is also common in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis due to many reasons, including high
blood pressure (caused by a lack of exercise, drugs used to treat the condition and less-elastic
arteries), obesity (due to painful joints making it difficult to exercise), etc.
Rheumatoid arthritis can also impact the functioning of the ocular system (the eyes) if it chooses to
target this area. When targeting the eye, the immune system attacks the collagen in the sclera and
cornea, leading to eye inflammation, blurred vision, pain and/or dry eyes. Once the spread has
started, conditions such as dry eye syndrome, cataracts, scleritis, uveitis, etc can form. More severe
symptoms of these could be severe pain in the eye, vision loss, reduced vision, cloudy vision, etc.
, M1- Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease is neurodegenerative disorder caused by the deterioration of the nerve cells in a
brain region called the basal ganglia. As nerve cells become damaged, dopamine cannot be produced
as effectively by the substantia nigra (as mentioned in P1). Because of this, movement is impaired
because dopamine is a neurotransmitter which is needed for the basal ganglia to produce nerve
impulses for movement. This causes movement to be irregular/slow/stiff and so many skills are lost.
For example, walking may become a difficult task. Other examples of lost functions may include
changes/dulling of facial expressions, slurred speech, etc. Fractures are also easier to occur due to
the damage to the motor system. This is a chronic and progressive disorder, meaning it both lasts a
long time and also gets progressively worse. This is because nerve cell degeneration is a slow and
gradual process.
Parkinsons disease also increases the likelihood of a patient developing heart problems such as
cardiovascular disease (heart failure, coronary artery disease, etc), arrhythmias, etc. The exact link
between why there is a positive correlation between patients with PD developing heart problems is
unknown, however there are many ideas as to why this is. Firstly, exercise becomes more of a
difficult task as the disease progresses. This means that patients may struggle to stay active and so
their heart health may suffer. Arrhythmia’s have been shown to link to PD. It is argued that this is
because, as well as the somatic nervous system (the system which we use to control voluntary
muscles) being damaged, so it the autonomic nervous system (the system which controls involuntary
muscles such as the heart). Therefore, irregular heartbeats can be seen due to the damage to the
autonomic nervous system.
P2
In order for a patient to be given a diagnosis, evidence must be gathered and analysed in order for a
conclusion to be determined. There are two procedures used to do this, the first being investigative
procedures, which are general measurements done on patients used to assess whether their
condition is abnormal or if it worsens. Examples of these are when health care workers take patients
pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, etc. The other procedure used to investigate patients
is diagnostic procedures. These are more specific and often take more time as they are more
complex and can be used to diagnose conditions. For example, MRIs, PET scans, biopsy, etc. By using
these methods of investigation, potential conditions can be ruled out and the cause of the
signs/symptoms can be identified/diagnosed.
P2- Rheumatoid arthritis
Investigative procedures such as physical examinations (where joints are checked by health care
professionals) and carrying out blood tests can help to check for toms of those with rheumatoid
arthritis. This helps to also rule out other potential causes. For example, blood tests such as C-
reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate are used to assess indications of inflammation in
the body, which may indicate Rheumatoid Arthritis. Whereas a full blood count can be used as a
broad indicator of overall health and help to rule out other potential causes of the symptoms.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller katiemiskin. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $6.47. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
