Parkinson’s, a slowly progressive disease

Eskişehir Provincial Health Director Prof. Dr. Uğur Bilge gave some important information about the disease and made a statement on the occasion of April 11, World Parkinson’s Day. Bilge said, „Parkinson’s disease was first described in 1817 by the English physician James Parkinson as „shaking palsy“. He noted that it is celebrated as World Parkinson’s Day.

On the subject, Prof. Dr. Uğur Bilge continued as follows;

“Parkinson’s is a slowly progressive disease that occurs with advancing age.

The most well-known symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, which occurs with advancing age, are slowed movements and tremors. While it is mostly observed in people between the ages of 50 and 75, it is seen in one of every 100 people after the age of 65, and in one of every 20 people after the age of 85. However, it should not be thought that the disease only affects the elderly. In ten percent of the patients, symptoms of the disease may appear before the age of 40, and in some special familial forms, the age of onset may be before the age of 20. The disease usually starts insidiously and its symptoms progress extremely slowly but gradually over years, such that patients often cannot tell the exact date of onset of the disease. By the time patients become aware of the first symptom, some symptoms of the disease may have started a long time ago. Often the first symptom in the vast majority of Parkinson’s patients is a tremor in a finger or hand. Less commonly, it may start with tremors. In some patients, shrinkage in letters or a dull expression on the face when writing is the first symptom. Especially in young patients, the first symptom is contraction of one foot inward. In almost all patients, symptoms occur in only one half of the body, and over time, they become milder in the opposite half of the body. The rate of progression of the disease and the type and severity of symptoms vary from patient to patient. The main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are trembling, slowing down in movements, twitching in one or more limbs (arm or leg), not swinging the arms while walking, loss of movements such as facial expressions and gestures, slow, small-stepping or shuffling walking, forward-leaning body posture, soft and low voice, monotonous speech, reduced handwriting, illegibility, drooling from the mouth, difficulty in swallowing, weakness, fatigue, mood changes, depression, unexplained troubles, constipation, excessive sweating, low blood pressure and pain, muscle spasms,” he said.

“It is estimated that there are around 100,000 Parkinson’s patients”

Referring to the importance of exercise in Parkinson’s patients, Provincial Health Director Prof. Dr. Uğur Bilge said, “Exercises are very important in addition to medical treatment in Parkinson’s patients. It is a known fact that physically fit patients cope better with the long course of illness. Exercises have a positive effect, especially on muscle stiffness and slowness of movement, to the extent possible. Since Parkinson’s disease is a long-term, slowly progressive disease, the patient and his family should cooperate with the physician for many years in its treatment. Efforts to be made together will ensure both the control of the symptoms that bother the patient and the patient’s attainment of a better standard of living. It is estimated that there are around 100 thousand Parkinson’s patients in Turkey, and approximately 10 thousand new patients are added to this number every year.