”The most important treatment principle for Parkinson’s disease is individualized treatment under the guidance of treatment guidelines, which must take into account the patient’s specific situation and meet the patient’s special requirements, and drug treatment also emphasizes individualization and combination of drugs.” Chen Haibo, director of the Department of Neurology at the Ministry of Health Beijing Hospital, said in an interview with reporters on Sept. 9. Chen Haibo said that Parkinson’s disease is currently the third biggest killer in neurological diseases after stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, which is a serious threat to the health of the elderly. However, there is a serious lack of awareness of the disease, patients can not seek early medical care and missed diagnosis, misdiagnosis is prominent, resulting in more than 50% of Parkinson’s disease patients are not seen in time to get effective treatment, making the condition worse, seriously affecting the effectiveness of treatment. Parkinson’s disease, also known as “tremor paralysis”, is an irreversible progressive central nervous system degenerative disease that occurs mostly in middle-aged and elderly people. It is mainly due to the degeneration of nerve cells located in the “substantia nigra” of the midbrain. When these substantia nigra neurons degenerate and die to more than 50%, the synthesis of dopamine, an important chemical conductive substance in the brain, is severely reduced and cannot maintain the normal function of the regulatory nervous system. The imbalance between the two chemicals results in a series of symptoms such as tremor, muscle stiffness, motor retardation and postural instability. Be alert to symptoms such as hyposmia, depression and anxiety Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that occurs in middle and old age and progresses slowly after onset, mainly manifesting as hand tremor, muscle stiffness, motor slowing and even unsteadiness in walking. These symptoms are easily noticed by both doctors and patients and are treated promptly. ”However, non-motor symptoms are often overlooked and are often misdiagnosed as other diseases that cannot be treated reasonably and effectively, and a comprehensive understanding of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is essential.” Chen Haibo said a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health’s Beijing Hospital showed that almost all patients had non-motor symptoms, with an average of 12 non-motor symptoms per patient. For example, decreased sense of smell, constipation, depressed mood, anxiety and irritability, hallucinations, sleep disturbances, cognitive impairment, urinary difficulties and pain have a significant impact on quality of life and often make patients feel unhappy or miserable. However, patients rarely actively complain about these symptoms, especially depression and anxiety, and rarely receive treatment. Chen Haibo said that current research has concluded that the occurrence of Parkinson’s disease is mainly related to genetic, ageing and environmental factors. Some epidemiological surveys have found that people who live in rural areas, drink well water all year round, are exposed to certain poisons, have suffered traumatic brain injury, are senior intellectuals, and have a family history of the disease are more likely to suffer from the disease than the general population. Levodopa is not terrible and requires reasonable medication “For the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, there are mainly drugs, surgery, genes, brain cell transplantation and other methods, of which drug therapy is currently the most mature and most used treatment, and currently the most commonly used drug is levodopa.” Chen Haibo said. Chen Haibo said that because levodopa treatment is prone to reduced efficacy and some motor complications after 2-5 years, it has been misunderstood that the drug is toxic to the nervous system, causing “levodopa phobia” among some patients, who are still reluctant to use or increase the dosage for fear of levodopa’s side effects even if they are unstable and prone to fall. ”Overall, the advantages of levodopa treatment outweigh the disadvantages, but the use of the drug needs to be arranged rationally to make the efficacy of each drug last as long as possible and to reduce the chance of side effects.” Chen Haibo said that when starting medication, one should start with a small dose and gradually titrate to the needed dose. Since each patient’s response to medication is different, it is emphasized that the dose of Parkinson’s disease treatment should be individualized, and that finding just the right amount of medication to basically control symptoms by slowly increasing the dose will both achieve the goal of improving quality of life and not overdose. Chen Haibo said, “Currently, it is advocated to treat with dopamine agonists first when conditions permit and then add levodopa treatment when the efficacy wanes, or consider using levodopa treatment at the beginning if the patient is 65-70 years old or older at the time of diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.” Chen Haibo said that because food proteins can affect the absorption of levodopa and reduce its efficacy, levodopa drugs are best taken on an empty stomach, preferably at intervals of more than one hour from the diet, and should not be delivered with milk, etc. In particular, anti-Parkinson’s disease drugs such as levodopa should not be stopped suddenly. Sudden discontinuation may lead to severe withdrawal malignant syndrome, causing high fever, coma and other symptoms, and in serious cases, fatal. Therefore, discontinuation of medication needs to be gradually reduced and stopped slowly under the guidance of a doctor. Active treatment Life expectancy is almost similar to that of a normal person “Many people know that they have Parkinson’s disease, they think that this disease can not be cured, the prospects are dismal, 49% of patients will have anxiety and depression symptoms, in fact, if patients are actively treated, their life expectancy is mostly similar to that of a normal person.” Chen Haibo said the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, including a variety of drugs, surgical treatment and psychological guidance, but these treatment modalities can not be cured, the current goal of treatment is to reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life. Chen Haibo said that there is often a large number of exaggerated and illegal propaganda, such as “a new breakthrough in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease”, “activation of brain cells to regenerate dopamine nerve cells” and so on, and even use the reputation of the regular hospital claiming to be able to cure Parkinson’s disease to mislead patients Many patients believe in these propaganda and spend a lot of money on drugs or health care products without exact efficacy, which not only wastes money, but also delays treatment.