What You Know and Don't Know About Parkinson's Disease

Author: Cui Yihui, registered dietitian, master of medicine

Reviewer: Zhu Wenli, Professor and Master Supervisor, Peking University Health Science Center

●Is “hand tremor” Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson's disease is a neurological disease in which a type of nerve cell called "dopaminergic" in the patient's substantia nigra degenerates, resulting in a significant decrease in the secretion of dopamine, thereby hindering the brain's ability to command the muscles. The brain's instructions cannot be effectively transmitted to the muscle system throughout the body, resulting in many problems caused by the "brain's inability to control the muscles."

❖Inability to make facial expressions properly and having a mask-like face (also known as a poker face) is one of the typical symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

❖ Resting tremor: This refers to various "tremors" that occur when the patient is at rest, and the patient's hands always involuntarily make movements such as counting money or rolling pills.

Not all cases of hand tremors are caused by Parkinson's disease. The key is to see under what circumstances the hand tremors occur. If hand tremors occur in a static state, you should be highly suspicious. If hand tremors occur during eating, picking up things, writing, etc., but not in a static state, it is a general senile tremor and there is no need to be nervous.

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❖ Slow movements and obvious slow reactions. A normal person can react in 0.1 seconds, but a Parkinson's patient may take a while to react, not just half a beat or a beat slower. So, if you meet an acquaintance with Parkinson's disease and you greet him, but he doesn't stop to respond immediately, please be more considerate of him, because he can't stop whenever he wants, and you often hear him respond after he has walked several meters past.

❖Muscle rigidity, unstable gait and posture.

❖Non-motor symptoms may appear in the middle and late stages, such as depression, constipation, sleep disorders, cognitive impairment, etc.

●Are smart people with high IQ more likely to suffer from Parkinson's disease?

According to the general rules of medicine, the reason why a chronic disease is difficult to be cured is mostly because of its complex causes, and Parkinson's disease is no exception. This chronic disease is related to a combination of factors such as aging, genetics, and exposure to environmental toxins (such as industrial and agricultural pollution, indoor decoration pollution, and mobile phone and computer radiation, etc.). Among them, 20% of patients are "infected" due to environmental pollution or chemical toxins.

Originally, Parkinson's disease was defined as an "elderly disease", but in recent years, many clinical physicians believe that Parkinson's disease has a tendency to become younger, with the youngest patient in the reported cases being only 16 years old. This is generally related to factors such as genetics, high levels of heavy metals in the body, and excessive dietary additives. Many celebrities, including the famous writer Ba Jin, mathematician Chen Jingrun, former US President Truman, and boxing champion Ali, have Parkinson's disease, so there is a saying: the smarter the person, the more likely they are to get the disease. Just take this as a joke, don't take it seriously. Authoritative doctors do not support this statement, because clinically, both smart people and people with high IQs suffer from this disease, as well as ordinary people and even people with intellectual disabilities. If you must explain why people with high IQs are more likely to suffer from Parkinson's disease, it may be related to the fact that they "can't sit still" and always like to find things to do for themselves. Because of the constant work, the pressure will increase invisibly, and the blood pressure will also rise. In the long run, it may cause different degrees of changes in cerebrovascular function (such as increased probability of hypertension and cerebral arteriosclerosis), change the local blood supply to the brain, and thus lead to the degeneration of "dopaminergic" nerve cells, which makes it easier to suffer from Parkinson's disease. Therefore, being smart is not the cause of the disease, but we should avoid overusing the brain and excessive pressure.

●How to detect the “clues” of Parkinson’s disease as early as possible?

Parkinson's disease is hidden in the early stages, but it is not without signs. Therefore, if there are elderly people in the family, children can pay more attention and observe more "clues".

❖Reduce blinking, reduce eye movement, dull expression, and slow speech.

❖ Writing gradually becomes difficult and the handwriting becomes smaller and smaller.

❖Involuntary shaking of the limbs when at rest.

❖The gait is fragmented and hurried.

❖Sleep disorders, such as nightmares, talking in sleep, shouting, punching and kicking in dreams, or difficulty falling asleep and daytime sleepiness.

❖ Decreased sense of smell, depression, constipation.

Although Parkinson's disease cannot be cured yet, if the patient and his or her family can detect these early signs, early diagnosis, early treatment, and standardized medication, they can delay further progression of the disease and improve the patient's quality of life.

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●Can Parkinson's disease be effectively prevented?

At present, Parkinson's disease has become the third largest killer that seriously threatens the physical and mental health of the elderly after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and Alzheimer's disease. Nearly 50% of Parkinson's disease patients in the world are in China. The prevalence of Parkinson's disease in the elderly over 60 years old in my country is 1%, the prevalence of people over 65 years old is 1.7%, and the prevalence of people over 70 years old is 3% to 5%. Therefore, we should start with the prevention of Parkinson's disease. We can take the following preventive measures from now on.

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❖ If you find early signs of Parkinson's disease, you should go to the hospital in time to seek early diagnosis and treatment. This is the primary principle of prevention.

❖Avoid eating fatty meat, animal oil, and animal offal. Eat more fruits and vegetables and other foods rich in vitamins and dietary fiber. Take in moderation in dairy products, soy products, and nuts, and drink plenty of water.

❖ High-risk groups can often eat foods that can stimulate the brain to produce more dopamine, such as: dark-colored grains (black rice, black beans), fruits rich in vitamin C (kiwi, cherry, dates), nuts (walnuts), dark chocolate, bananas, coffee, green tea, etc.

❖Maintain regular exercise.

❖Maintain a regular sleep schedule.

❖Pay attention to the combination of work and rest, and avoid long-term excessive stress and excessive brain use.

❖Prevent chronic diseases such as hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, cerebral arteriosclerosis, and constipation.

❖ Use less or with caution drugs that may cause drug-induced Parkinson's disease (read the drug instructions carefully before taking the drug).

❖You can choose to supplement nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, deep-sea fish oil, etc. to nourish and protect the brain and nerve cells.