Parkinson’s disease should be suspected if the movement of the parents, who welcomed the Chuseok holiday, is slower than before or shows a change in behavior that makes it difficult to focus. Parkinson’s disease, the most common degenerative brain disease after dementia, was investigated with Professor Yudala of the Department of Neurology at Kyunghee University Hospital.
Parkinson’s disease is caused by the loss of neurons that make dopamine, one of the neurotransmitters in our brain. Due to the nature of degenerative diseases, the symptoms gradually worsen, and the more time passes, the more visible symptoms become. It mainly occurs in the elderly, and the risk increases with age. Without proper treatment, movement disorders gradually progress, making it difficult to walk and sometimes it is impossible to carry out daily activities at all.
Parkinson’s disease starts very slowly and progresses little by little, so it is difficult to know exactly when the disease started. Typical motor symptoms are ▲ ‘Seodongjeung’ in which the movement of the limbs becomes slow ▲ ‘tremor’ in which the hands, legs, and jaw tremble when standing still ▲ ‘Stiffness’ in which the body is stretched and stiff ▲ ‘Positive instability’, which makes it difficult to focus while walking There is this.
In addition, various non-motor symptoms such as depression, sleep talk, decreased sense of smell, constipation, fatigue, and pain may appear, and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include expressionlessness, a gradual decrease in the size of the letters when writing, and a decrease in the voice when speaking.
Professor Yudala said, “For the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, history and neurological examination of the patient’s characteristic symptoms through a specialist are the most important. It is conducted to differentiate other possible diseases,” he said.
Treatment of Parkinson’s disease can be divided into exercise and rehabilitation, drug treatment, and surgery. In Parkinson’s disease, motor function gradually deteriorates, so regular and steady exercise is essential for symptom improvement. It is important to find an exercise that the patient can do, such as walking for more than 30 minutes, indoor cycling, and swimming, and make a habit of doing it consistently.
If symptoms are mild and do not interfere with daily life, medication may be delayed. However, it is necessary to receive regular medical treatment from a specialist to confirm the progress of the disease and the need for drug treatment. As therapeutic drugs, a precursor (levodopa) that acts as dopamine in the brain and auxiliary drugs that inhibit the breakdown of dopamine or have a similar effect are used. none. However, proper drug treatment can slow the progression of the disease as much as possible by maintaining daily life and maintaining regular exercise.
Parkinson’s is the only degenerative disease that can improve symptoms through surgery. In a typical deep brain stimulation procedure, electrodes are placed in both brains and weak electrical stimulation is continuously applied to maintain a constant therapeutic effect and reduce the drug dose. An electrode is placed in the patient’s brain and needs to be maintained for a long time, so caution is required.
Professor Yoo said, “Patients who exercise consistently from the early stage of Parkinson’s disease are known to have good long-term progress. You have to be careful not to stumble, and it is better to remove objects that are easy to trip over or furniture that can be bumped and injured by falling from the street where patients usually go,” he said.
[파킨슨병을 예방하는 3분 체조]
① Sit and straighten arms exercise (repeat a total of 5 times)
– Sit upright in a chair and hold for 5 seconds with both arms stretched out in front so that they reach chin height.
② Lie down knee pulling exercise (repeat 5 times in total)
– From a lying position, straighten both legs, then slowly bend one leg toward the chest and straighten it. Repeat the same action with the other leg.
③ Standing heel lift exercise (repeat 5 times in total)
– In an upright position, hold the back of the chair to be supported with both hands and lift and lower your heels.