When interviewing a patient suspected of exhibiting signs of Parkinson's disease, the nurse shows an understanding of the disease's etiology by asking which question?

Question

1. "Is it painful to flex your chin to your chest?"
2. "Do you recall if any of your relatives had difficulty holding on to things with their hands?"
3. "Did your muscle weakness first occur in your arms or in your legs?"
4. "Did I understand correctly that your memory problems started about 5 years ago?"

Answer 1

2
Rationale 1: The symptoms of multiple sclerosis include L'Hermitte's sign, or a shocklike pain that results from flexion of the neck.
Rationale 2: In Parkinson's disease (PD), the lack of dopamine production leads to difficulty with movement, tremors, rigidity, and difficulty maintaining posture. It is thought that the disease process results from a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors.
Rationale 3: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) symptoms first present in an arm in roughly half of the cases, with about 20% of the occurrences affecting a leg.
Rationale 4: Slow and insidious in onset, and ranging over a course of 3 to 20 years, Alzheimer's disease progressively degrades cognitive function.