Early Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
Disease description:
My father was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Currently, he only experiences slight tremors in his hands, and the condition is not yet severe. I would like to know what symptoms are commonly present in the early stages of this disease?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Lv Zhiqin
Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder. The main early symptoms include the following aspects:
1. Resting tremor: Often starts from one upper limb's distal end,表现为 a "pill-rolling" movement. The tremor is obvious at rest, diminishes or stops during voluntary movements, worsens during tension or excitement, and disappears during sleep.
2. Bradykinesia:表现为 slowness of fine finger movements, such as difficulty in writing, unbuttoning, and tying shoelaces. Daily activities become slower, and starting to walk may be difficult. Arm swing may decrease or disappear while walking.
3. Muscle rigidity: Increased muscle tone and stiffness表现为 "lead-pipe rigidity" or "cogwheel rigidity," causing difficulty in actions such as turning around or rising from a seated position.
4. Sensory disturbances: Such as reduced sense of smell, and sleep disorders, especially REM sleep behavior disorder,表现为 shouting, screaming, or thrashing about during sleep.
5. Other symptoms: Including autonomic dysfunction symptoms like constipation, urinary retention, frequent urination, and urgency. Subtle changes such as micrographia (smaller handwriting) and hypophonia (softer voice) may also occur. Additionally, some patients may experience psychiatric symptoms such as low mood, anxiety, and depression.
