Surprising Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

May 7, 2013

When people think about Parkinson’s disease, what comes to mind are the characteristic movement problems—shakiness, rigidity, slowness. Yet even very early in the disease, Parkinson’s brings other symptoms that have nothing to do with impaired movement.

Though these symptoms can lower quality of life, many Parkinson's patients don’t mention them to their doctors, perhaps mistaking them for normal signs of aging…and doctors fail to ask about them. This is a shame, since many of these nonmotor symptoms are treatable. A new study highlights what patients should know about these other Parkinson’s symptoms…

More Info on Parkinson’s Disease

1. Parkinson’s Disease
   Symptoms Questionnaire
2. Cycling Improves Parkinson’s
3. Easy Way to Ward Off Parkinson’s
4. Gentle Treatment for Parkinson’s

The study: Participants included 159 adults with early-stage Parkinson’s plus 99 healthy adults. In both groups, the average age was in the late 60s. All participants answered a questionnaire that screened for 30 different nonmotor symptoms, including gastrointestinal and urinary problems…sexual dysfunction…emotional and cognitive troubles…sleep difficulties and more.

Findings: On average, people with early Parkinson’s disease had 8.4 of these nonmotor symptoms, while the healthy participants had only 2.8 of the symptoms. The most common symptoms in the Parkinson’s group were drooling…urinary urgency…impaired sense of smell…anxiety…and constipation.

You might be thinking that some of these symptoms are common complaints that come with age. And that’s true—but the symptoms were much more common among the Parkinson’s patients than among the other people in the study. For example, among Parkinson’s patients, 56% had problems with drooling, 46% experienced urinary urgency and 42% had constipation…but among the healthy participants, only 6% drooled, 19% had urinary urgency and 7% had constipation.

Even if you have not been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, it is important to be aware of this research because the nonmotor symptoms of the disease sometimes are the first to appear. Bringing these symptoms to a doctor’s attention may lead to a speedier and more accurate diagnosis.

What you can do: To take the Parkinson’s Disease Nonmotor Symptoms Questionnaire, click here and then download “NMSQuest.” Fill it out, then show it to your doctor. Many of these 30 nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can be treated—but first, you and your doctor must recognize them for what they are.

More info on Parkinson’s disease: Read Cycling Improves Parkinson’s…Easy Way to Ward Off Parkinson’s…Gentle Treatment for Parkinson’s…and Exercise That Can Reverse Parkinson’s Symptoms.

Source: Tien K. Khoo, PhD, senior lecturer, Griffith University School of Medicine, Australia. He completed this research while a research fellow at Newcastle University in England. His study was published in Neurology.

http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/health-a-healing/surprising-symptoms-of-parkinson-s-disease