Early symptoms of Parkinson's

When it comes to Parkinson's syndrome, we may not have known much about it many years ago, but as time changes, we should now have a general understanding of this type of disease. We often see that some elderly people have unstable gait and very unnatural facial expressions. A large proportion of them may suffer from Parkinson's syndrome. We should give more care and love to such elderly people, and understand some of the causes and symptoms of this disease.

Parkinson's syndrome is a common diagnostic concept used by clinical neurologists. It refers to a group of clinical syndromes with bradykinesia caused by various reasons (cerebrovascular disease, cerebral arteriosclerosis, infection, poisoning, trauma, drugs and genetic degeneration, etc.), mainly manifested as tremor, muscle rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability.

Parkinson's disease has a slow onset, and the early symptoms are not very obvious. There are individual differences, which are generally divided into the following four situations:

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 dull 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.