The body sends out signals when you are aging. Check yourself! The key to brain longevity is to look at…

Experts in this article:

Wang Gang, Chief Physician and Professor of Neurology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Wang Jintao, Master's student, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Slow movement, insomnia, hand tremors, changes in walking posture...

These are the early symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but they are often regarded as normal aging phenomena of parents, and even medical treatment is neglected.

According to data from the World Health Organization, Parkinson's disease, as the second largest neurodegenerative disease, affects the health of about 3 million people in my country, and the incidence rate continues to grow at about 21 patients per 100,000 people per year.

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The development of Parkinson's disease is a long process. If some early hidden signals are ignored, it may not be discovered until the late stage, delaying treatment.

Below we will use 12 questions to test the degree of brain aging and degeneration to see if you have the potential to develop Parkinson's disease, so as to understand and prevent Parkinson's disease.

What is Parkinson's disease?

Parkinson's disease is one of the common neurodegenerative diseases in neurology. Its typical symptom, tremor (hand tremor, leg tremor, head tremor), is the most prominent impression on people, so it is often called "trembling disease".

As a degenerative disease related to aging, Parkinson's disease has an insidious onset and the disease progression is currently irreversible. However, early and reasonable drug treatment and intervention with multiple measures can better control symptoms and improve patients' quality of life.

Do you have the potential to develop Parkinson's disease? Test your brain's aging and degeneration!

If you find 3 or more problems, you should pay attention. Your brain may no longer be "young" and you may be very close to Parkinson's disease. (The test results are for reference only and are subject to the diagnosis of specialists.)

Signs of aging that are easily overlooked: Be careful if you experience this condition, it may be Parkinson's disease!

The common symptoms among patients who visit the clinic for the first time are as follows.

Tremor is often the first symptom and occurs in 70% of Parkinson's patients, but mild tremors in the early stages are easily ignored.

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Parkinson's tremor has certain characteristics: the hand tremor is typical "pill-rolling" or "money-counting" tremor. The tremor mainly occurs when the affected part is still, such as when the patient is sitting or walking without active hand movement, but when the patient raises his hand to greet someone, the tremor will be significantly reduced or even disappear.

In addition to the hands, tremors can affect the whole body, mostly the limbs, mandibles, and head, and often gradually spread from the distal end of one side to the opposite side. Tremors are not only seen in Parkinson's disease, but also in some other common diseases, such as essential tremor, but the tremor pattern is different. Essential tremor often has a family history and has a better prognosis than Parkinson's disease.

Bradykinesia, limb stiffness, and postural balance disorders are also common symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which are often mistaken for normal manifestations of aging. However, Parkinson's disease will gradually progress and affect daily life.

The following symptoms may occur:

Movements become less frequent, slower, and stiffer

Mask face, facial expression is serious and stiff as if wearing a mask

Lowercase sign, writing is getting smaller and smaller

Deep voice, increased vocal cord muscle tension causing deep pronunciation

Gait disorders, prone to forward gait, prone to freezing when starting and turning, etc.

Prone to falling, poor balance when standing up from a chair or moving around, and needs support

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In addition, there are some "hidden" signs of Parkinson's disease that are easily overlooked. Rapid eye movement sleep disorder is considered a risk factor for Parkinson's disease and dementia. Studies have shown that some patients may experience it years or even decades after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The main manifestations are punching, kicking, shouting, and even rolling off the bed during sleep, which may cause injuries to oneself and those around.

Other studies have shown that before the onset of Parkinson's disease motor symptoms, some patients will experience depression, olfactory disorders, and long-term constipation. Some Parkinson's disease patients may suffer from insufficient intestinal motility due to medication or impaired autonomic nervous function.

If you experience the above symptoms, you should seek medical attention for a physical examination immediately.

Can drinking coffee in moderation prevent Parkinson's disease?

Clinical and basic research over the years have suggested that coffee has a preventive effect on Parkinson's disease, and caffeine plays an important role in this.

In addition, compounds such as eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamine (EHT) in coffee and phenyllindane produced after deep roasting have also been shown to reduce the incidence of Parkinson's disease and dementia.

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Research data show that people who start drinking more than 4 ounces (114 ml) of coffee (containing caffeine) every day in middle age have a 2-3 times lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease in old age than those who do not drink coffee. People who consume 796 ml per day even reduce their risk to 5 times.

Most studies have shown that 1-3 cups (150ml-450ml) of coffee per day is a beneficial dose. However, the intake should also be limited. It is not suitable for some patients with high blood pressure, heart disease, insomnia, and stomach discomfort. The optimal daily intake of coffee and caffeine is still unclear. Therefore, caution should be exercised when consuming coffee. Healthy people can consume 1-3 cups per day, while those who are not suitable need to reduce the amount or not drink it.

What other methods are there to prevent Parkinson's?

1

Improve your lifestyle

Tai Chi and Ba Duan Jin have been proven to have certain effects on the prevention and treatment of Parkinson's disease. Early exercise has a good effect on maintaining motor coordination, so reasonable physical exercise is a good choice. Choose a Mediterranean diet with limited sugar, low fat, low salt (non-hypotensive patients), and high-quality protein, and eat more foods that protect nerves, such as dark fruits and vegetables with good antioxidant capacity, green tea, vitamins, and coenzyme Q10.

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2

Regular medical check-ups

An annual physical examination is very necessary to understand your own physical condition.

3

Reducing risk factors

In the pathogenesis hypothesis of Parkinson's disease, environmental factors are a key point that can be intervened by humans. Therefore, we should stay away from some poisons in life that are likely to cause Parkinson's disease, such as lead, manganese heavy metal substances, pesticides, herbicides and other chemical poisons; stay away from drugs that may cause Parkinson's disease: such as reserpine, a drug still used to lower blood pressure in remote areas.

4

For the prevention and control of other diseases

Parkinson's disease is a disease that is common in the elderly and is often co-occurring with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Good control of comorbidities can alleviate damage to the nervous system to a certain extent.

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