How to diagnose Parkinson's

Parkinson's disease is a relatively common disease. The elderly are the main group of people who suffer from it. To confirm Parkinson's disease, you should go to the hospital for regular examinations in time. There are many ways to check. For example, routine laboratory tests can check some of the patient's symptoms. In addition, blood and cerebrospinal fluid tests can check the patient's dopamine level. Only through good examinations can it be finally confirmed whether Parkinson's disease is present.

How to diagnose Parkinson's

1. Routine laboratory examinations: Generally within the normal range, but some may have hyperlipidemia, diabetes, abnormal electrocardiogram and other changes.

2. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid examination: It can be detected that the dopamine level is reduced and the concentration of its metabolite homovanillic acid is reduced. The levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine metabolites and -hydroxyindoleacetic acid are reduced; dopamine β-hydroxylase is reduced; somatostatin in cerebrospinal fluid is significantly reduced and -aminobutyric acid levels are reduced.

3. Routine laboratory examinations: Generally within the normal range, but some may have hyperlipidemia, diabetes, abnormal electrocardiogram and other changes.

4. Brain CT and MRI examinations: Generally, there are no characteristic findings. Elderly patients may have varying degrees of brain atrophy and ventricular enlargement. Some patients have lacunar infarction foci, and some have basal ganglia calcification.

5. Functional imaging detection: using PET or SPECT and specific radionuclide detection. In the early stages of the disease, early hypersensitivity (compensatory stage) and late hyposensitivity (decompensatory stage) of D2 dopamine receptor activity, as well as reduced synthesis of dopamine neurotransmitters, can be detected, which are valuable for early diagnosis, differential diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression.

Parkinson's disease early symptoms

1. Resting tremor. Tremor is often the earliest symptom of the disease, usually with unilateral finger pill-rolling movements, which will later develop into involuntary rhythmic tremors of the ipsilateral lower limb and the contralateral limb when at rest. The symptoms may be alleviated or stop when changing position or moving. Tremors can worsen with emotional changes.

2. Muscle stiffness. In the early stage, it usually starts from one side of the limb, and the patient feels joint stiffness and muscle tightness. When the facial muscles are affected, a "mask face" with a stiff expression will appear; when it affects the flexion of the trunk, limbs and knee joints, a "triple-bend posture" will occur.

3. Slow movements. In the early stages, patients' fine motor skills in their upper limbs slow down. Actions such as tying shoelaces and buttoning clothes become much slower than before, or even impossible to complete successfully. Writing also gradually becomes difficult, the handwriting becomes crooked, and the writing becomes smaller and smaller, which is called "micrographia". It is difficult to start walking. Once you start walking, your body leans forward, your steps are small and get faster and faster, and you cannot stop in time, which is called a "panicked gait." When walking, the coordinated swing of the upper limb on the affected side is reduced or even disappears; turning around is difficult, and it is necessary to take several small steps in succession.