In Parkinson's disease, certain nerve cells die in the brain. Patients can only slow down and their muscles become stiff. Arms and legs begin to tremble in peace. Many patients also have problems thinking and become demented.
The Parkinson's disease symptoms usually develop slowly. Relatives and friends often catch them earlier than the patient.
Most Parkinson's symptoms begin one-sided, that is, on only one side of the body. Later, they spread to the other side. In the course of the disease, they are also becoming more pronounced.
Physicians also classify Parkinson's disease as primary or idiopathic Parkinson's syndrome (IPS). "Idiopathic" means that no tangible cause for the disease can be found. This "real" Parkinson's makes up about 75 percent of Parkinson's syndromes. He is in the focus of this text. This should be distinguished from the rare genetic forms of Parkinson's, the "secondary Parkinson's syndrome" and the "Atypical Parkinson's syndrome". They will be briefly described below.
If a family member is suffering from Parkinson's disease, this unsettles many relatives. You wonder if Parkinson's is inheritable. In the vast majority of cases, however, Parkinson's is the idiopathic Parkinson's disease described above. Inheritance is not an issue in this sporadic disease form, experts believe.
Parkinson's therapy is individually adapted to each patient. Because the disease symptoms can vary from person to person and progress at different rates.
Parkinson's is usually treated with medication, although mild symptoms may sometimes require no therapy at first. Which active ingredients are used depends primarily on the age of the patient. Sometimes a neurosurgical procedure can be useful - the so-called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS).
In addition to medical and possibly surgical measures, the individual Parkinson's treatment may include other building blocks. These include, for example, physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. It makes sense in any case, to be treated in a special Parkinson's clinic.
01.05.2019
Parkinson's associate many with slow movements and trembling hands. But these are not the first symptoms of the disease, explains Prof. Rüdiger Hilker-Roggendorf of the German Society for Parkinson's in the "Neue Apotheken Illustrierte".
Possible first signs of Parkinson's are therefore sleep disorders, problems with smelling and mood swings. Patients should go to the doctor if these symptoms are more frequent and there is no obvious explanation for smoking as the cause of the olfactory disorder. This is especially true for those who have close relatives with Parkinson's.
Parkinson is not curable. The sooner the disease is recognized, the better doctors can counteract and get the symptoms as long as possible, explains the neurologist. Here, drugs are used, but also other forms of treatment such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
Parkinson's is a nerve-related motor disorder that primarily affects older people. The cause of the disease called shaking palsy is the dying of nerve cells in the brain. They no longer produce dopamine, which helps the body to control movements. Numerous disorders are the result: shaking, tense muscles and gait and balance disorders. Add to that a quiet and monotonous language as well as a rigid facial expression. Additional symptoms may include sleep disorders, depression and mental retardation, including dementia.
Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. In the Federal Republic according to health insurance data currently about 400,000 people are suffering from the incurable disease, writes the German Parkinson Society. On average, the patients are 60 years old at diagnosis. Men are affected more frequently than women.
