International Journal of Advanced Education and Research

Authors
Ahmed S Ashour, Dina A Khairy

Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Early in the disease, motor symptoms such as shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking are noticed. These symptoms result from the death of cells in the substantia nigra. cell death is due to modification of some intracellular proteins into Lewy bodies; resulting in dopamine deficiency. Lewy bodies are abnormal aggregates of alpha-synuclein that develop inside nerve cells of the brain in PD. Lewy bodies could be present more peripherally in the parasympathetic submandibular ganglia. These bodies were also present in superior cervical ganglia together with non-neurological tissue (submandibular salivary glands). Recent studies also identified these oral biomarkers in submandibular glands.