Most people know that Parkinson
s disease is a neurodegenerative
disease that causes difficulty
with walking and coordination. It
occurs when the brain can no
longer produce enough dopamine,
one type of chemical in the
brain. Most dont realize that it is
a progressive disease. Parkinson's
starts gradually and gets
worse with time. The sooner you
can recognize the symptoms the
better off the patient will be
when it comes to timely care and
possible slowing of the stage
progressions.
The most common symptoms of
Parkinson's disease are stiffness
in different parts of the body,
shaking — particularly in the
hands, legs, and face, loss of balance
and coordination, difficulty
walking and slow movements.
As the disease advances, muscle
pain and cramps, problems with
sleep, memory impairment, depression,
and behavioral changes
may set in, too. The Hoehn and
Yahr scale is used to stage Parkinson
s disease according to the
order in which symptoms appear
and gradually worsen. There
were previously five stages in the
Hoehn and Yahr scale, but over
time it was modified—stages 1.5
and 2.5 were added to it. Medically,
these stages are used as a
loose guide, and in fact, they
make up one of the sections in
the Unified Parkinson's Disease
Rating Scale (UPDRS). The UPDRS
is the widely accepted
method of classifying, monitoring,
and managing the progress
of Parkinson's disease.
Stage 1
Stage 1 is the earliest stage of
Parkinsons disease. In it, the
symptoms you experience are
very mild and do not cause any
disability or interference with
day to day living. The symptoms
also affect only one side of the
body—an occurrence known as
unilateral involvement. The most
common symptoms at this stage
are tremors (usually in one hand
or leg), and slight changes in
posture, movement, and facial
expressions. Due to how mild the
symptoms are, it is usually very
difficult for a doctor to make a
definitive diagnosis of Parkinson's
disease during stage 1.
Stage 1.5
This stage is not very different
from the first stage except that
the neck and spine are now involved.
Stage 2
In the second stage of Parkinson
s disease, the symptoms affect
both sides of the body
(bilateral involvement), but your
balance is not impaired. It may
take months or years for you to
move from the first stage to the
second stage. Changes in posture
and your gait are now more apparent.
You may start experiencing
problems with speech such as
slurring your words, being unable
to control the tenor of your
voice. Increased stiffness, loss of
facial expression control are seen
in this stage, too. All of these
symptoms will have some, albeit
minimal, disabling effect and
cause interference to your day to
day living. This stage still isn't
easy to diagnose, as sometimes
the symptoms are simply attributed
to being part of aging.
Stage 2.5
In this stage, you start to experience
a mild impairment of bal