“Hand tremors” are Parkinson’s? Not related to young people? These claims are unreliable!

April 11 is the 26th World Parkinson's Day. When it comes to Parkinson's disease, some people have their own "opinions". Is "hand tremor" Parkinson's disease? It has nothing to do with young people? Read the article to break the misunderstanding >>

Compiled by New Media Editor Duan Dawei

Parkinson's disease is a typical chronic disease of the elderly. As life expectancy increases worldwide, the incidence of Parkinson's disease is increasing year by year.

According to data from the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, as the aging problem becomes more serious, the Parkinson's disease prevalence rate among Chinese people over 65 years old is 1.7%. Based on this, it is estimated that the number of Parkinson's disease patients in China may exceed 3 million. When it comes to Parkinson's disease, many people's first reaction is "hand tremors". Is frequent hand tremors Parkinson's disease? Young people will not get Parkinson's disease? Will this disease affect life expectancy?

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Is “hand tremor” Parkinson’s disease?

"Hand shaking" is technically called tremor, which is a typical symptom of Parkinson's in the eyes of the public. It is true that many patients will experience hand tremors, but this is not a necessary characteristic of all Parkinson's patients. Some patients only have stiffness of the limbs without tremors, which is called non-tremor Parkinson's.

▲The core symptoms of Parkinson's disease (Image source: NetEase News)

In fact, slow movements are the core symptom of Parkinson's disease. Patients may feel that fine movements such as brushing teeth, beating eggs, and rolling dumpling skins are not flexible, their arms cannot swing freely when walking, their handwriting becomes smaller, and their expressions become dull.

In addition, Parkinson's disease also has many non-motor symptoms, including loss of smell, depression, sleep problems, intellectual impairment, frequent urination, stubborn constipation, etc., which usually require the joint participation of multiple disciplines to provide better comprehensive treatment plans.

Wan Xinhua, chief physician of the Department of Neurology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, introduced that in addition to the obvious limb hypokinesia and rigidity, Parkinson's disease may also cause lateral tilt of the trunk, involuntary limb movements, or obvious abnormal postures at certain stages, which doctors call dyskinesia or dystonia.

As the disease progresses, patients in the late stages will become unsteady on their feet, prone to falling, and eventually unable to walk independently, requiring the use of a wheelchair or bed rest.

Therefore, if middle-aged and elderly people continue to experience some slow movements in their daily lives, such as reduced or absent natural arm swings when walking, dragging their feet when walking, slower turning, inflexible buttoning and dressing, slow turning over at night, slower chopstick use and writing, etc., they need to be alert. These slow movements are not necessarily caused by old age, and they should seek medical attention in time if necessary. These phenomena may involve diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Parkinson's syndrome, Parkinson's plus syndrome, etc.

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Parkinson's disease = Parkinson's syndrome?

Parkinson's syndrome is a broader diagnostic concept, referring specifically to a group of clinical syndromes caused by various reasons, mainly bradykinesia. It has typical manifestations of Parkinson's disease such as tremor, muscle rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability. Parkinson's disease is a common cause of Parkinson's syndrome.

(Photo source: The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University)

Parkinson's disease generally has no specific cause, and the course of the disease is often a continuous and slow progression. The latter is caused by stroke, carbon monoxide, organophosphorus poisoning, encephalitis, brain trauma, etc. Among them, slow movement caused by stroke is the most common, and the course of the disease is often a step-by-step progression. Therefore, Parkinson's disease is not equal to Parkinson's syndrome.

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Will Parkinson's disease affect patients' life expectancy?

The main treatment for Parkinson's disease is drug therapy. Currently, six types of drugs are commonly used: levodopa preparations, dopamine receptor agonists, COMT inhibitors, anticholinergics, monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors, and amantadine. Zhang Liyan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Neurology at Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, said, "The role of these drugs is either to supplement dopamine, reduce dopamine metabolism, or increase dopamine utilization efficiency. Take the Parkinson's disease treatment drug safinamide, which was recently approved for listing in China, as an example. Its principle is to reduce the degradation of secreted dopamine and help maintain the dopamine concentration in the patient's brain."

Whether you choose medication or surgery, you must cooperate with exercise and rehabilitation training. The principle of Parkinson's treatment is to take a long-term approach and focus on improving the quality of life. Zhang Liyan said, "About 70%-80% of Parkinson's patients are accompanied by anxiety and depression, because Parkinson's affects the nuclei in the patient's brain that manage emotions, and the patient has difficulty in moving and has less contact and communication with others. Therefore, we need to give Parkinson's patients more care and patients should communicate more with each other."

Although Parkinson's disease cannot be cured, it will not affect life expectancy, and there are drugs available. Patients should not fall into pessimism. "With the guidance of doctors, family support, and self-management, Parkinson's disease patients can achieve a good quality of life.

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Nothing to do with young people?

It is worth mentioning that Parkinson's disease is called an age-related disease, but not all elderly people will get Parkinson's disease, and not all young people will not get Parkinson's disease.

"Currently, Parkinson's disease is showing a trend of becoming younger. Even before the age of 50, many people will show symptoms of Parkinson's disease." Xu Xin, chief physician of the Department of Neurosurgery at the First Medical Center of the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, said that young people can also get Parkinson's disease, especially those who have relatives with Parkinson's disease, especially direct relatives. Due to the influence of dominant inheritance, their children are more likely to get Parkinson's disease.

Data show that about 10% of young Parkinson's patients are under 45 years old. According to Xing Yan, director of the Department of Neurology at the Air Force General Hospital of China Medical University, Parkinson's patients are getting younger, which is related to multiple factors such as genetics, environmental toxins, and stress.

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If you have Parkinson's disease, you can only "stay" at home?

Dr. Xie Chuncheng from the Department of Neurosurgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University reminds that for Parkinson's patients, while actively carrying out surgery and rehabilitation treatment, if exercise therapy is added at an early stage, it will not only help slow the pace of the disease, but also help sleep, stabilize emotions, and have a positive impact on the psychological state.

But when exercising, you must first keep safety in mind. For Parkinson's patients, in order to persist for a long time, they need to focus on choosing the types of exercise that are suitable for their own activity conditions. If necessary, you can consult a professional doctor before exercising to avoid sports injuries. At the same time, if the symptoms are mild and your ability allows, you can increase the intensity of exercise appropriately, such as running, cycling, playing ball, etc. outdoors. If the symptoms worsen, you can choose to do some activities that require effort, such as brisk walking for 20 minutes, doing yoga, dancing, and Tai Chi. If the symptoms are severe and complicated, it is recommended to focus on some daily difficult activities, such as practicing standing up from a chair, or shaking your hands and lifting your feet in bed; in the late stage of the disease, family members and caregivers should also assist patients in turning over, patting their backs, and massaging.

Although Parkinson's disease cannot be cured, in fact, Parkinson's disease is not a fatal disease and generally does not affect life expectancy after proper treatment. After proper treatment, most patients can maintain good function for more than 10 years. Therefore, early prevention, early detection and early treatment are extremely important. A healthy lifestyle and physical exercise are still universal health rules.

(The content of this article is compiled from Life Times, China News Network, Science and Technology Daily, Lizhi News, etc.)

Produced by: Science Central Kitchen

Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beijing Science and Technology Media

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