It is assumed that the development of Parkinson’s disease can be provoked by a certain neurotoxin or a group of toxins, which are close to some substances used in agriculture as chemical fertilizers. But for a person to get sick, a genetic factor is also needed. It is known that for people whose parents needs Parkinson’s disease care, the risk to get the Parkinson is higher than for others. Approximately 7–10% of people have a deliberately genetic form of Parkinson’s disease, inherited from their relatives. Therefore, for those people whose close or distant relatives suffered from Parkinson’s disease, it is important to be examined beforehand in order to try to prevent the development of the same pathology.
The appearance of the first symptoms of the disease often goes unnoticed. Movement disorders (for example, trembling in the hands during the rest, which is the most obvious symptom of Parkinson’s disease) occur only when there is a fairly pronounced brain damage.
Before that, the patient may experience such signs as mimic poverty, deterioration of hand motor skills, certain lethargy, poor movement, and stiffness. It becomes difficult for a person to rise from a low seat, and to start any movement – there is a feeling of sticking to the place.
Parkinson’s disease is also characterized by one-sidedness of the lesion (either on the right or on the left side). To identify the existing violations at the earliest stage, specialists have special equipment that helps to measure the reaction, speed and coordination of movements, including eyeball movements, balance function, etc. And although the detected changes are not quite specific, all these additional studies can be very helpful in defining the disease.
It has been proven that patients develop symptoms that most of them do not associate with Parkinson’s disease even 10–15 years before the onset of motor impairment. These can be gastrointestinal tract disorders (for example, frequent constipation), urination disorders (especially at night), sleep disorders, pain in muscles and joints, increased fatigue, depression (every second patient suffers from it). A very common symptom for the start of the disease is the deterioration of smell. People rarely pay a lot of attention to this symptom, whereas it is very important. Another symptom is pathological movements in the phase of “fast sleep” (it is in this phase of sleep where we can see dreams): patients with an apparent or hidden flowing “parkinsonism” process, suddenly in a sleep can start amplified, large-amplitude swinging with their arms and legs. These movements can be fixed by a special study that is carried out in a sleep – polysomnography. Of course, the presence of one of the above signs still does not hint on the Parkinson’s disease, but their combination among should be paid attention to, especially for people from the “risk group”.
