Parkinson’s Disease Science: What are the common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease How to treat it

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common progressive neurodegenerative disease, whose pathological process involves brain tissue and multiple neurotransmitter pathways in the autonomic nervous system. Clinical symptoms include motor symptoms such as bradykinesia, resting tremor, and myotonia, as well as non-motor symptoms such as neuropsychiatric symptoms, autonomic impairment, olfactory dysfunction, and sleep disorders.1, Weight loss Weight loss is common in patients with PD. Weight loss Weight loss is more common in PD patients, with one study suggesting that 50% of PD patients have weight loss, and women are more likely to have weight loss than men.The cause of weight loss in PD patients is unclear, and is not only due to poor nutrition caused by moderate-to-severe movement disorders and increased energy expenditure in PD patients. Weight gain also occurs after bilateral DBS surgery. In addition, patients with anisocoria are prone to weight loss during their illness, which makes them use more levodopa medication per kilogram of body weight than patients without anisocoria, thus exacerbating the symptoms of anisocoria and causing them to lose further weight, forming a vicious circle. [Treatment] Pay attention to dietary nutritional support; adjust relevant anti-Parkinsonian drugs to reduce the occurrence of anisotropia. 2.Swallowing dysfunction The occurrence of dysphagia in PD patients is related to catecholamine-related neurodegeneration and the formation of LEWY vesicles in the brainstem and pharyngeal muscles. Patients with swallowing dysfunction are at risk for asphyxia, aspiration pneumonia, nutritional deficits, and dehydration. Swallowing dysfunction correlates with the severity of the disease, and the entire process of swallowing (mouth, pharynx, and esophagus) can be affected in patients. In advanced stages of PD, severe dysphagia can cause aspiration and lead to recurrent lung infections in patients. Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in patients with advanced stages of PD. Patients with dysphagia should be evaluated for swallowing function, and swallowing function exercise should be performed as early as possible; gastrointestinal nutrition can be adopted, and attention should be paid to preventing and controlling the related complications; gastrointestinal nutrition tube can be chosen for short-term and gastrostomy for long-term. 3.Salivation The incidence of salivation in PD patients is 70%~80%, in which men are more than women. swallowing dysfunction in PD patients can cause salivary clearance obstacles. Severe salivation not only affects the normal social activities of patients, but also causes perioral skin infections. Encourage patients to swallow saliva regularly (can carry a timed swallowing reminder); 1% atropine liquid can be taken sublingually to relieve symptoms; salivary gland botulinum toxin injection is feasible for those with severe symptoms. 4, constipation Constipation is the most common autonomic dysfunction, colon dyskinesia and rectal dysfunction in PD patients, the incidence of up to 30% and 60% respectively. Constipation can occur more than 10 years before the onset of motor symptoms, and patients mainly manifested as difficulty in defecation, painful sensation of defecation, and after defecation, they still feel that the intestines are not emptied. Neurodegeneration of colon interosseous plexus, slow emptying of intestinal content, abnormal intestinal contraction and diastolic function play an important role in the development of constipation. 【Treatment】 Patients with constipation should pay attention to increasing dietary fiber and fluid intake (8 glasses of water per day), avoiding bananas; increasing exercise to promote gastrointestinal motility; stool softeners, osmotic laxatives (lactulose), polyethylene glycol electrolyte balancing solution, and enema medication (cecrops) can be used to improve patients’ symptoms. In the process of diagnosis and treatment of PD patients, a full understanding of the relevant autonomic nervous system symptoms is conducive to the clinician’s early identification, correct intervention, and improvement of the patient’s quality of life