– Suffer from depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in addition to pain and motor symptoms
-Step-by-step Parkinson’s disease management with oriental medicine
Parkinson’s disease is the most common degenerative brain disease along with dementia. The prevalence rate in Korea is estimated to be about 225 per 100,000 people, and it is increasing every year with the aging of the population. According to the National Health Insurance Service, the number of patients with Parkinson’s disease in Korea has nearly doubled in 10 years from 61,565 in 2010 to 116,504 in 2021. Parkinson’s disease is a disease in which a variety of symptoms are common, ranging from tremors, muscle stiffness, and postural instability to pain, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders, significantly reducing the quality of life. With the help of Professor Seongwook Park of the Department of Internal Medicine at Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, we learn more about the treatment status of Parkinson’s disease and the step-by-step treatment methods in oriental medicine.
Destruction of midbrain substantia nigra neurons resulting in abnormal dopamine secretion
Parkinson’s disease occurs when neurons in the midbrain substantia nigra that secrete dopamine are gradually destroyed. When nerve cells in the substantia nigra are destroyed and dopamine is not secreted, the body trembles at rest, muscles stiffen, movements slow, and posture becomes unstable, making it difficult to walk. When these motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease progress, it becomes difficult for patients to maintain daily life independently and are restricted in social activities. In addition, symptoms not related to exercise, such as pain, depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment, sleep disorders, constipation, and orthostatic hypotension, are common, and the quality of life of patients is reduced.
| ▲Professor Park Seong-wook of the Department of Oriental Internal Medicine at Kyunghee University Hospital at Gangdong explains the treatment status of Parkinson’s disease and the step-by-step treatment methods in oriental medicine. |
Incurable disease, quality of life improvement is the top priority
Parkinson’s disease is a disease that cannot be cured so far, and aims to improve the quality of life of patients by controlling symptoms. Levodopa supplementation therapy, which is currently used as a standard therapy for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, is also used in this respect. Nevertheless, there are many uncontrolled symptoms such as postural instability, frozen walking, language disorder, fatigue, pain, and autonomic nervous disorder, and there are many cases where drugs cannot be used for a long time due to side effects of drugs. Reflecting this situation, it is reported that many Parkinson’s disease patients around the world are using various complementary and alternative therapies in addition to conventional drug treatment. Of these, the most widely used treatments worldwide are oriental medicine treatments, including acupuncture and herbal medicine.
◆Treatment of oriental medicine to delay disease progression and improve symptoms
Considering the treatment tradition of oriental medicine and the latest research findings, the role of oriental treatment in managing Parkinson’s disease is 1) delaying the progression of the disease, 2) improving motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, 3) It can be summarized as improving the quality of life of patients by showing a synergistic effect when used simultaneously with dopamine.
First, oriental medicine treatment delays the progression of Parkinson’s disease by preventing destruction of dopaminergic neurons present in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. In fact, according to the results of a five-year study on patients with Parkinson’s disease, patients who received acupuncture together had a delayed progression of Parkinson’s disease compared to patients who only received drug therapy. Various herbal medicines such as bee venom acupuncture, wonji, cheonma, astragalus, galgeun, golden, peony, and ginseng, and prescriptions such as cheonghyeoldan, eokgansan, and cheonggantang have also been found to inhibit the progression of Parkinson’s disease by protecting brain neurons.
Second, the quality of life can be improved by improving various symptoms of patients with Parkinson’s disease through oriental medicine treatment. Through the study, it was confirmed that acupuncture and pharmacopuncture treatment improved motor function, daily living ability, balance, and walking speed. In particular, falls, which occur 46 to 68% annually due to balance disorders and gait disorders, have a significant impact on the decrease in quality of life and increase in mortality in patients with Parkinson’s disease. have. In addition, herbal medicine treatments such as Army Ja-tang and Banhahu-bak-tang have been reported to relieve various non-motor symptoms such as digestive disorders, swallowing disorders, cognitive dysfunction, depression, and sleep disorders.
Third, dopamine, a standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease, and oriental medicine treatment can exert a synergistic effect. According to a recently published study, if you take dopamine and receive acupuncture treatment or oriental medicine treatment such as Chunma or Cheonggantang at the same time, you can expect the same degree of symptomatic improvement with a small amount of dopamine, It has been confirmed that side effects can also be reduced. This means that in the case of receiving oriental treatment together, the same effect can be obtained even with a small amount of dopamine drug, so that drug treatment is possible for a long time and side effects caused by the drug can be reduced.
Step-by-step herbal treatment for Parkinson’s disease
In this way, herbal treatment for Parkinson’s disease progresses for each patient, from suppressing the progression in the initial state, to controlling various symptoms that afflict the patient, to improving the condition in which balance control or walking becomes difficult as the disease progresses further. It can be applied effectively according to the degree. Therefore, in order to effectively manage Parkinson’s disease, it is necessary to establish and implement an appropriate plan for each patient in consideration of the individual patient’s disease status, daily life patterns, and quality of life. The step-by-step herbal treatment for the management of patients with Parkinson’s disease according to the progress is as follows.
Step 1: Target patients whose symptoms are well controlled through dopamine supplementation therapy, which is the standard treatment, or whose symptoms are not severe. Visiting treatment is carried out once every 1-2 weeks, and the treatment is focused on suppressing the progression of the disease and managing symptoms.
Stage 2: Targets patients suffering from symptoms such as tremors, stiffness, constipation, fatigue, lethargy, and pain caused by Parkinson’s disease. The treatment is conducted 2-3 times a week, and the purpose is to relieve discomfort through active symptom improvement.
Step 3: Patients with gait disorder due to balance control disorder and at risk of falling are eligible. Inpatient intensive care is required. After hospitalization, treatment is given to improve balance and walking function.
Gangdong Kyunghee University Hospital, Department of Oriental Internal Medicine, Neuropsychiatric Center, operates a 4-week inpatient intensive treatment program for patients with Parkinson’s disease who have difficulty moving due to postural instability and gait disorders. Systematic evaluation of severity of Parkinson’s disease, gait disorder (G-WalkⓇ), and balance control disorder (Balance masterⓇ), as well as oriental medicine functional status evaluation (pulse conduction, suyangmyeong meridian function, infrared thermography, etc.) as well as acupuncture and Treatment effects are maximized through herbal acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and herbal medicine. In addition, through cooperation with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, rehabilitation treatment related to posture and gait is also provided. [로컬세계 = 마나미 기자]
LOCAL World / Reporter Manami
[ⓒ 로컬(LOCAL)세계. 무단전재-재배포 금지]