What do they have in common-they suffered from’Parkinson’s disease’. Parkinson’s disease is a representative disease that threatens the life of the elderly enough to occur in 1 to 2% of the elderly over the age of 65.
▶Mainly occurring in the elderly in their 70s or older
Parkinson’s disease, first named by a British doctor named James Parkinson in 1817, is one of the representative neurodegenerative diseases. As dopamine neurons that act on the basal ganglia of the brain to refine the body’s movements are lost, movement is impaired. Among the neurodegenerative diseases that appear in the elderly, it is the second most common after Alzheimer’s.
According to the National Health and Medical Big Data Open System Statistics on Diseases of Interest, the number of Parkinson’s patients in the last 5 years (2015-2019) was ▲ 103,674 in 2015 ▲ 11,917 in 2016 ▲ 11,5679 in 2017 ▲ 2018 12,977 people ▲In 2019, it was 12,5607, an increase of about 21.2% over the past five years. In particular, the number of patients increased rapidly from their 50s, and elderly patients over 70 accounted for about 75.7% of all patients. In addition, there were about 1.5 times more female patients than male patients.
▶ Dopaminergic nerves are destroyed and movement is disturbed.
The cause of Parkinson’s disease is not yet clear. However, it is known that various factors such as environmental factors, genetic factors, aging, mitochondrial dysfunction, and abnormal functions of processing unnecessary proteins act in combination. About 5-10% of all patients are affected by genetics, and environmental factors are reported to be affected by toxic substances such as pesticides, heavy metals (manganese, lead, copper), carbon monoxide, and trace metal elements. Parkinson’s disease begins when these factors destroy the dopaminergic nerves in the black matter in the center of the brain stem.
Song In-wook, a professor of neurology at the Catholic University of Incheon St. It can be confirmed that about 60 to 80% has been lost,” he said.
▶ Suspicion of slow, trembling, and stiff movements in daily life
Representative symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are movement disorders such as slow motion (slow movement), tremors, and muscle stiffness. ‘Possibility’ is slow motion, which slows gait, arm movement when walking, posture change, etc., as well as speech. In addition, facial expressions disappear, and various movements in daily life such as putting on buttons, writing, washing faces, and wearing clothes become slow and dull. In particular, Parkinson’s disease often begins on one side, and less shaking of one arm is observed when walking. Usually, the patient is not aware of it and is detected by people around him.
‘Trimming’ is the most noticeable symptom. It is also referred to as’quivering during rest’ because it appears when you are sitting or lying in a comfortable position, and the symptoms disappear when you hold something with your hand or move your leg. ‘Stiffness’, when muscles become stiff, is easy to be mistaken for joint problems. As Parkinson’s disease progresses, muscles tighten or pull, and various symptoms such as back pain, headache, leg pain, and leg numbness complain.
As the disease progresses, the neck, waist, elbow, and knee joints become bent in a bent posture, fall due to inability to balance the body, and symptoms such as gait freezing, inability to move footsteps when walking, also appear. If it worsens to this extent, the patient’s psychological pain also increases, accompanied by neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and impulse control disorder. In fact, about 50% of people with Parkinson’s disease suffer from depression. In addition, 40% of all patients show cognitive decline, and they show different patterns from Alzheimer’s, such as hallucinations or severe ups and downs of cognitive function symptoms. In addition, various symptoms such as orthostatic hypotension, constipation, urinary disorders, and intestinal motility disorders such as autonomic nervous system disorders, sleep disorders, urination disorders, fatigue, and numbness are accompanied.
▶Regular check-ups are essential… Symptoms can be overcome with appropriate medication and exercise therapy
The most accurate diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is through a medical history and neurological examination by a specialist. In particular, it is helpful to perform brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron tomography (PET), etc. in parallel to distinguish between other Parkinson’s syndrome and secondary Parkinsonism.
For Parkinson’s disease, it is essential to establish a treatment plan from a long-term perspective for the patient’s daily life, centering on drug therapy and exercise therapy. Under the guidance of a specialist, drug treatment should be carefully checked and controlled for the severity of symptoms or accompanying other diseases, but the representative therapeutic drug is levodopa. Levodopa is absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, travels to the brain, and is converted to dopamine, which supplements the lack of dopamine in Parkinson’s disease patients.
However, long-term use of dopamine drugs can lead to post-motor complications, such as dyskinesia, which involuntarily shakes the face and body, and drug enzymes. In this case, a surgical treatment called deep brain stimulation should be considered. Deep brain stimulation is a treatment that continuously stimulates a specific part of the brain by inserting an electrode into a specific part of the brain and connecting it to an electric stimulator implanted in the body.It helps to improve the worsening symptoms and increase the effect of drug treatment. give.
Exercise therapy is mainly performed by strengthening the strength exercise. It is not possible to completely reverse a posture that has already been deformed, such as the head being leaned forward and the shoulders and back bent round, but even if the body becomes slow and stiff, it is a great help in maintaining mobility and function. In particular, it is most important to keep exercising. If you are vigilant that it works, there is a high risk of worsening your symptoms.
Professor Song In-wook said, “Because Parkinson’s disease is common in the elderly, it is often mistaken for an incurable disease because of the characteristic that treatment is given up easily and the disease progresses slowly.” As many things have been developed, regular visits to a neurologist, receiving accurate diagnosis, and receiving optimal treatment depending on the severity of the symptoms can be enough to overcome it,” he advised. Reporter Jang Jong-ho [email protected]
※Precautions for Parkinson’s disease
-If you feel any abnormalities such as slow exercise, tremor, or muscle stiffness, consult a specialist
-When taking medication, keep the medication taking time.
-Consultation with a specialist is essential before taking other drugs! Absolutely contraindicated drugs containing levopride, which are commonly prescribed for indigestion and arthritis.
-Maintaining a healthy body through regular living
-Exercise therapy should be continued, and do not be vigilant that symptoms have improved.
-Parkinson’s disease requires long-term treatment, but if appropriate treatment is given according to the severity of symptoms, do not give up as much as you can enjoy normal daily life, and actively seek treatment under the guidance of a specialist.