All Races and All Sexes: for the year 1990.
Parkinson's Disease (332): 7,254
Paralysis agitans (332.0) 7,251
Secondary Parkinsonism (332.1) 3
(numbers after causes of death are category numbers of the Ninth
Revision International Classification of Diseases, 1975).
Definitation of Paralysis agitans:
A disease of middle and late life producing a picture of rigid tremulousness,
progressive in its course and marked by weakness, delay of vouluntary
motion, a peculiar festinating gait, and muscular contraction, causing
peculiar and characteristic positions of the limbs and head. While movement
is slow, there is no true paralysis. The face appears expressionless, there
is a general flexion attitude, the balance tends to be lost ( in a forward
direction). Sometimes occurs following encephalitis lethargica; at other
times is due to an unknown cause. SYN: palsy, shaking; Parkinson's
disease.
(copied directly from " Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary"
Edition 16, page 1322).
SECONDARY PARKINSONISM results from the loss of or interference
with the action of dopamine within the basal ganglia, due to idiopathic
degenerative disease, drugs, or exogenous toxins.
(copied directly from "The Merck Manual", 15th. edition page 1422).
CAUSE OF DEATH:
Cause-of-death classification--Since 1949, cause-of-death
statistics have been based on the underlying cause of death,
which is defined as "(a) the disease or injury which initiated the
train of events leading directly to death, or (b) the circumstances
of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury"
(Copied directly from "VITAL STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES"
1990-Volume II-Mortality
Part A
Published by the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics
Marjorie Moorefield
just another librarian
(with PD)
