Parkinson: The importance of early diagnosis

It is not the first time that doctors and specialists emphasize the importance of detecting Parkinson at an early stage, a diagnosis that, on average, on average, is occurring at 18 months, although in some cases it may take several years.

Early diagnosis is essential for several reasons, not for nothing the doctors suggest that doubling the benefit to the patient, as a side clears the doubts and concerns about what symptoms respond and, secondly, the treatments are most effective.

Also, and thus stress it specialists, as well as improving the effectiveness of the treatments when applied in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, early diagnosis allows you to move and treat one of the symptoms that are between 20 and 40% of patients, depression.

Early diagnosis, as happens in other health conditions, is essential to confront the disease from the initial phases and do so more effectively, since as designated specialists in the late stages of Parkinson’s treatment response may be worse. Currently, according to doctors, the diagnosis of Parkinson’s average stands at 18 months, although in some cases it may take several years. When the initial symptom or that alerts us that something is not right are tremors, the patients’ generally prior recourse to the doctor, in this case the neurologist. Not so when the symptoms are mild pain or clumsiness, the latter signal which, incidentally, may be related to depressive symptoms.

How to improve the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s? Specialists emphasize the information and the need to redouble efforts in health education to at least know identify early signs and not delay medical consultation.

In fact, according to several studies on Parkinson’s disease, and on the level of knowledge of the population on this disease, more than half of the European population is unaware that the Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disease; more than 75% did not relate the difficulty of movement with this disease and over 90% of whom are unaware that the Parkinson’s disease is a severe and disabling.

How to recognize the symptoms? This is, therefore, the question we have to know how to respond, at least, most of the population. Although the tremors are one of the most frequent symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (present in more than 60% of patients), as we have seen is not the only one. There are other symptoms that can mask – motive symptoms – shoulder pain or depression.

Tremor, difficulty manipulating objects to roll over in bed and clumsiness in walking, fatigue, insomnia, joint pain and stiffness, depression or loss of expression of the face are some of the symptoms that should alert us and make us think that we could be facing a picture of Parkinson’s disease.

The accurate diagnosis and study of each case is the first step to apply a treatment which, as noted by experts, should be individualized and comprehensive, tailored to age, clinical status, physical abilities and backgrounds. Treatment, followed by a multidisciplinary team should also include rehabilitation therapy (physical, occupational, speech and music therapy). Treatments which aims to combat the symptoms and slow the progression of the disease as well as improve the quality of patient life.