What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease causes certain cells in your brain to slowly break down: the cells that make the important substance dopamine. This can cause all kinds of complaints, such as difficulty moving and problems with thinking. Parkinson’s disease is named after James Parkinson, the physician who first described the disease in 1817.
increasingly in young people
opposite advertisement The neurologist at Medisch Spectrum Twente explains that the first misunderstanding already begins with who the disease can affect. It is often thought that Parkinson’s disease affects older men in particular, but this is not true. Both men and women can get this disease. And: more and more young people are getting sick with this disease. Ten percent of patients are under the age of fifty. We see more and more people in their 40s with the disease and sometimes even people in their 30s.
The first symptoms
Where many people with Parkinson’s disease think of tremor, according to Lucille, are other initial symptoms to watch out for. According to her, the disease usually begins with complaints such as slow thinking, stiffness, smell problems and mood disorders such as depression. “Disturbed dreams in which you talk and move a lot in your sleep or smaller movements — such as handwriting that becomes increasingly difficult — can also indicate Parkinson’s disease.” Finally, constipation can also be a sign, and this often starts years before. “This is because the intestines are also working slower.”
Can something be done against Parkinson’s disease?
Unfortunately, the disease cannot be cured yet. However, what is necessary can be done against symptoms such as mood complaints and intestinal problems. This is why early detection is so important. You can also do a lot about movement complaints: By using medications that return dopamine to the body, motor skills can often be improved,” says Lucille.
The person who also suffers from Parkinson’s disease is Ernst Daniel Smid:
