Parkinson's disease, very hard to identify

Hyderabad: Non-motor symptoms, which are the earliest symptoms of Parkinson’s occur years before the onset of the disease, are difficult to identify. Doctors say 95 per cent of patients in India come for treatment when the disease is at a very advanced stage, where providing medical treatment is difficult.

Dr Vinod Metta, senior neurologist and movement disorder specialist, said indentifying and treating non-motor sym-ptoms of Parkinson’s in time goes a long way in managing the disease.

“The symptoms app-ear five to seven years before and they gradually become aggressive. In the West, 40 per cent of the cases are being identified as the physicians are trained to identify the red flag stage. This stage is an indication that it is the beginning of the problem.”

The various steps to identify these early stages have been compiled by doctors making it easy for them to identify. This was needed as patients come too late when the degeneration is very high and medicines do not work that effectively.

Experts have drawn up a detailed list of issues where difficulty in walking, rigidity in the body and lack of clarity in thought are shown the first signs.

A proper scientific plan for early diagnosis has been developed wherein the patient and family are tracked and counselled. As many of them are not able to accept the onset of the disease five to seven years before it actually sets in, the physicians and specialists have to carry out detailed evaluation and work towards explaining to the patient to opt for therapy and later medication.

Early signs of Parkinson’s

Mood disorders like depression, anxiety and irritability. 
Cognitive changes: Not being able to focus attention and plan. Slowing of thought, difficulty with language and memory and personality changes. 
Hallucinations and delusions. 
Orthostatic hypotension: Low blood pressure when standing up suddenly, also called postural hypotension
Sleep disorders like insomnia or excessive day time sleepiness.
Fatigue
Vision problems 
Urgency in urine and also motions