“There are currently more than 1,600 Parkinson’s patients registered at our hospital, a process that has been ongoing for ten years, but we believe that these patients are still just the tip of the iceberg of this diseased population. The incidence of Parkinson’s disease is rising, but the number of patients who are able to realize they have a problem at an early stage and seek treatment at the hospital is, I estimate, less than 10% of the total number of people with the disease.” Prof. Liu Zhuo Lin, an authority in the field of Parkinson’s disease treatment and professor of the Department of Neurology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, lamented in an interview with the reporter. Indeed, with the development of medical technology, the treatment of Parkinson’s disease has made many great strides, and most of the patients who receive regular treatment are able to live a normal life again. Unfortunately, however, Chinese people still have a low awareness of Parkinson’s disease, and tend to interpret the tremor and stiffness that patients show in the early stages as “it’s normal for hands to shake when you’re old” and “your legs don’t work well when you’re old”… …thus missing the golden opportunity for early treatment. It is worth noting that Parkinson’s disease patients not only have the phenomenon of “late” consultation, but also lack the corresponding knowledge to properly manage the disease: 20% of the patients have stopped taking their medication or increased or decreased the dosage of medication arbitrarily, and most of the patients don’t quite understand how to exercise, and are even less aware of the importance of self-psychological adjustment and related methods. April 11 is the World Parkinson’s Disease Day. A few days ago, the authoritative experts in the field of Parkinson’s disease treatment in Guangzhou gathered in Guangzhou Hotel to provide free lectures and consultation for patients. Reporters interviewed them separately, and the experts interpreted Parkinson’s disease in a comprehensive way from the perspectives of drugs, surgery, traditional Chinese medicine and rehabilitation therapy. It is hoped that their views will help Parkinson’s disease patients get out of the disease maze. “At present, there are more than 1,600 Parkinson’s disease patients registered in our hospital, and this work has been persisted for ten years, but we believe that these patients are only the tip of the iceberg in this diseased population. The incidence of Parkinson’s disease is rising, but the number of patients who are able to realize they have a problem at an early stage and seek treatment at the hospital is, I estimate, less than 10% of the total number of people with the disease.” Prof. Liu Zhuo Lin, an authority in the field of Parkinson’s disease treatment and professor of the Department of Neurology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, lamented in an interview with the reporter. Indeed, with the development of medical technology, the treatment of Parkinson’s disease has made many great strides, and most of the patients who receive regular treatment are able to live a normal life again. Unfortunately, however, Chinese people still have a low awareness of Parkinson’s disease, and tend to interpret the tremor and stiffness that patients show in the early stages as “it’s normal for hands to shake when you’re old” and “your legs don’t work well when you’re old”… …thus missing the golden opportunity for early treatment. It is worth noting that Parkinson’s disease patients not only have the phenomenon of “late” consultation, but also lack the corresponding knowledge to properly manage the disease: 20% of the patients have stopped taking their medication or increased or decreased the dosage of medication arbitrarily, and most of the patients don’t quite understand how to exercise, and are even less aware of the importance of self-psychological adjustment and related methods. April 11 is the World Parkinson’s Disease Day. A few days ago, the authoritative experts in the field of Parkinson’s disease treatment in Guangzhou gathered in Guangzhou Hotel to provide free lectures and consultation for patients. Reporters interviewed them separately, and the experts interpreted Parkinson’s disease in a comprehensive way from the perspectives of drugs, surgery, traditional Chinese medicine and rehabilitation therapy. Hope that through their point of view, to help Parkinson’s disease patients out of the disease maze. For middle and advanced Parkinson’s disease patients whose “honeymoon period” has already passed and the effect of medication is no longer as effective as before, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS, also known as Brain Pacemaker Surgery) is undoubtedly a hope for them to continue to fight against the disease. During the DBS procedure, the surgeon implants two microelectrodes the size of a pinhead into the patient’s brain, and then buries a pulse generator under the skin of his or her collarbone. Once the brain pacemaker is activated, the pulse generator will send out weak electrical impulses through the connecting wires to stimulate the relevant nerve nuclei in the brain that control movement and inhibit the abnormal brain nerve signals that cause the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, thus eliminating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and restoring the patient’s ability to move around and care for himself or herself. “Most patients don’t feel the stimulus, but can feel relief from their symptoms. And patients can also switch the pacemaker on and off and adjust the parameters within a safe range via an extracorporeal programmable controller, depending on the severity of their symptoms.” DBS surgery is not suitable for all Parkinson’s patients. Patients with advanced disease, those with severe dementia and psychiatric symptoms, those with severe cardiopulmonary disease and severe high blood pressure, those with severe bleeding tendencies, those who are unable to cooperate with post-operative programmers, those who are unable to accept implants, and those who are not physically able to tolerate the surgery are not able to take this treatment. Do not stop taking medication after surgery The high cost of surgery used to be a major obstacle for patients to receive brain pacemaker surgery. It is understood that a bilateral installation of brain pacemaker surgery costs about 200,000 yuan, which makes many patients interested in surgery deterred. Since last year, Guangzhou has included Parkinson’s disease into the scope of medical insurance, Parkinson’s disease patients enjoying Guangzhou medical insurance can be reimbursed part of the cost, and hope that with the gradual improvement of China’s medical insurance system, more patients can benefit from the brain pacemaker. “Installing a pacemaker doesn’t mean it’s a one-time deal,” Zhang Shizhong reminded, adding that patients’ medication can be halved after surgery, but they can’t stop taking their medication without authorization. At the same time, patients also need to go back to the hospital often after surgery to adjust the parameters of the brain pacemaker, so as to use the least amount of power consumption, the best control of symptoms, and to avoid complications, and the life of the battery is generally only five or six years, the expiration of which should be returned to the hospital to change the battery. After surgery, patients should also avoid going to places with strong magnetic fields to avoid accidentally switching the pacemaker on and off.