7 Signs Of Early Onset Of Parkinson’s Disease

Early Parkinson’s disease begins before the age of 50. It is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects a person’s nervous system. It damages and degenerates the cells in the black nucleus. The average age of onset of Parkinson’s disease is 60 years, and its incidence increases significantly with age. However, about 5-10% of patients develop Parkinson’s disease before the age of 50.

Mutations in certain genes, such as the park gene, may contribute to the onset of this disease. People who have one or more relatives with Parkinson’s have a higher risk of developing the same disease. It is estimated that 15-25% of Parkinson’s patients know they have a relative who also has Parkinson’s.

In very rare cases, symptoms of Parkinson’s disease occur even in people under 20 years of age. This is known as adolescent Parkinson’s. It usually starts as symptoms of dystonia and bradykinesia (slow movement). A medicine called Levadopa can usually relieve these symptoms.

What is Parkinson’s disease?

Dr. James Parkinson made the first diagnosis of this disease in 1817. This British doctor observed six patients who developed symptoms typical of this disease, which he called “restless stroke.” Later, the famous French neurologist Charcot named the disease Parkinson’s disease.

As we said earlier, this disease affects the nervous system, weakening the nerve cells of the subsantia nigra (blackhead). These neurons produce dopamine. Dopamine is a thorough chemical that ensures that the body’s movements are performed properly.

When the brain does not have enough dopamine to maintain movement, it sends erroneous messages that tell the body how to move. The typical motor symptoms of the disease appear gradually.

It has also been shown that Parkinson’s disease affects other nerve cells. Therefore, other neurotransmitters such as serotonin, noradrenaline, and acetylcholine also suffer. This would explain other non-motor symptoms of the disease.

Early onset of Parkinson’s disease

When we think of a person with Parkinson’s disease, we essentially imagine in our minds a person whose hands tremble. He walks slowly with his back sagging. His body is a little stiff. It is true that this imagination is not very far from reality.

But hand tremors, slow walking, and stiffness are not the only symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. In addition to these and other motor symptoms,  Parkinson’s disease also includes a wide range of non-motor symptoms.

These non-motor symptoms include cognitive and emotional changes, as well as changes in behavior. They can interfere with a patient’s daily life.

However, it is not uncommon for the motor and non-motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease to also occur in truly young people. Although this disease is more common in older people, it is not limited to them.

In juvenile Parkinson’s, non-motor symptoms may be less typical, but they are more common in people under 20 years of age. Because the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are not exclusive to this disease, other diseases with similar symptoms make diagnosis occasionally complicated.

Seven signs of an early Parkinson’s outbreak

There are numerous symptoms that can tell us about the onset of early Parkinson’s disease. We are now going to share seven of them, although there are more:

• Difficulty sleeping. The most common disorders are insomnia (difficulty sleeping), restless legs syndrome, and REM sleep disorders.
• Depression. This symptom is one of the first and is considered an early sign of this disease.
• Mood swings. In addition to depressive symptoms, anxiety and apathy are really common. These symptoms can negatively affect the desire to seek help and solutions.
• Cognitive changes. It is usually difficult for many people with juvenile Parkinson’s disease to do more than one thing at a time. Poor task performance, slowed thinking, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, and dementia are all symptoms of early Parkinson’s onset.

• Tremor. Although tremor usually starts with the hands, in some patients the tremor may start in the chin or legs. The most characteristic feature is that the tremor occurs at rest.
• Slow motion. This is a gradual loss of spontaneous movements. General movement simply slows down. This is one of the most crippling and frustrating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
• Fatigue. In adolescent Parkinson’s, the patient feels constantly tired without making any effort at all.

As we can see, Parkinson’s disease does not occur exclusively in the elderly. An early outbreak of Parkinson’s disease can be really debilitating. These seven signs may help us identify this disease and go to an expert who can diagnose us as soon as possible.