Parkinson’s disease, the World Day for which is designated on April 11, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the substantia nigra of the brain, which is responsible for the production of dopamine. In other words, it is the result of the destruction of the nerve cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain.

It appears in the majority of patients after the age of 60. According to epidemiological studies, about 1% of people over the age of 60 show symptoms of this disease. Rarely, the manifestation of the disease can appear before the age of 50 and concerns about 10-15% of cases.

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by:

• Bradykinesia (slowness in planning, initiating and carrying out movements)
and at least one of the following:

  • Resting tremor (tremor) of 4-6Hz frequency (which decreases with movement and disappears during sleep)
  • Muscle stiffness that, combined with underlying tremor, creates the “cogwheel effect” during passive limb movements by the physician
  • Unsteadiness, due to loss of standing reflexes

“These symptoms usually appear first and are more intense on one side of the body. In some patients rest tremor is prominent. In others, the akinetic-dyskampic form of the disease is observed,” he points out Mr. Efstathios Gerakoulis Specialist NeurologistRetraining in Mental and Movement Disorders (Dementia-Parkinson), HealthSpot Scientific Associate and continues:
“Except for limb movements, all automatic body movements are generally affected, resulting in a reduction in blink frequency and facial expression movements, so that it appears frozen (mimicry), decrease in voice intensity and monotonous articulation (undertone), reduction of swallowing movements (resulting in salivation), difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), change in font with letters becoming smaller (miniature), reduced swing of the upper limbs during walking, bendocormia (the patient hunches over), accelerated gait (small, sliding steps that accelerate) etc.

Also, in addition to motor symptoms, other, non-motor symptoms are also observed, which actually appear before the classic motor symptoms in 20% of patients. These include: depression, REM sleep behavior disorder (the patient “lives” his dreams), restless legs syndrome, insomnia, drowsiness, fatigue, neuropsychiatric symptoms, dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (orthostatic hypotension, constipation, seborrhea, etc.) a.), anosmia (difficulty recognizing smells), ageusia (disturbance of taste), pain in the shoulder and back.

It’s worth noting that not all people with hand tremors have Parkinson’s disease. Very common at all ages is essential tremor, characterized by a family history, a slightly greater frequency of tremors, symmetry, frequent involvement of the voice and head, aggravation with movements and reduction with alcohol consumption. Also, it is important to know that only 70% of parkinsonians experience tremors at the onset of the disease.
If someone shows any of the above symptoms, they should immediately be examined by a neurologist,” concludes the expert.