After the drug “honeymoon” period, Patients can also receive surgical treatment

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease common in middle-aged and elderly people. Its incidence is on the rise with increasing age. The overall prevalence of Parkinson’s disease in China is about 2% in people over 65 years of age, and the number of Parkinson’s disease patients has reached 5 million, with 200,000 new cases each year. Staging Parkinson’s disease Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, and once diagnosed, it is accompanied for life. Medications and surgery can provide symptom relief and improve the patient’s quality of life. Parkinson’s disease is also staged, and patients should be treated according to the principles of individualized and graded management. According to the Hoehn-Yahr Staging (H-Y staging) scale, Parkinson’s disease can be divided into 6 stages. stage 0: asymptomatic. Stage I: unilateral lesions only. Stage II: Bilateral mild lesions. Stage III: Bilateral lesions with early balance disturbance. Stage IV: Severe lesions requiring substantial assistance. Stage V: confined to a bed or wheelchair and completely unable to care for oneself. Parkinson’s disease progresses relatively slowly from stage I to stage III, which is the golden period for treatment. If the best treatment period is missed, the disease will worsen dramatically and will seriously affect the quality of life of the patient. There is a “honeymoon period” for drug treatment. For patients with new onset or mild disease, i.e., stage 0 to II, drugs are the preferred treatment option, i.e., the “honeymoon period” for drug treatment. The “honeymoon phase” refers to the first few years of the initial or intermediate treatment of Parkinson’s disease, when patients taking smaller doses of dopaminergic drugs can achieve a more satisfactory and sustained outcome, with a higher quality of life and no disruption of normal work or life. However, after a 5-year “honeymoon” period, approximately 60-90% of patients will develop motor complications. Patients younger than 60 years of age are more likely to develop motor complications. Therefore, after the “honeymoon period”, when medication alone is no longer sufficient, patients should consider other treatment options, such as surgery. Surgical Relay Improves Quality of Life When patients progress to stages II to III, they can undergo surgical treatment. There are two types of surgical treatment for Parkinson’s disease: minimally invasive stereotactic radiofrequency disruption surgery; and minimally invasive stereotactic neuromodulation DBS implantation. Stereotactic radiofrequency disruption surgery is a micro-destruction treatment of specific nuclei in the brain by radiofrequency current to remove tremor cells and reduce the secretion of acetylcholine to a new balance with the secretion of dopamine. Radiofrequency disruption is primarily indicated for patients with unilateral or predominantly unilateral symptoms, and treatment can result in irreversible complete destruction of the nucleus accumbens, making the technique relatively economical in terms of medical expenditures. For patients with predominantly bilateral symptoms, DBS is recommended, which does not destroy the nucleus accumbens and is reversible, but the medical expenses are relatively high. It is important to emphasize that whether a patient can be treated surgically or which treatment modality to use requires a clear diagnosis and recommendation from a physician. Generally, surgical patients are primary Parkinson’s disease, not secondary to traumatic brain injury or other diseases triggered by Parkinson’s disease; after a period of drug treatment, the current effect is not satisfactory, physical conditions allow, normal hearing and speech ability, and willing to cooperate with surgery, only then can they receive surgical treatment.