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While today it affects one in 250 adults in France, Parkinson’s disease remains poorly understood. On the occasion of World Parkinson’s Day, April 11, here are 5 received ideas that should be taken up to better approach reality.
Launched by the International Society of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (MDS), International Day of Parkinson’s Disease, April 11, aims to raise awareness of this mysterious and yet very present pathology. This neurodegenerative disease affects 7 to 10 million people worldwide (including around 200,000 in France) but still suffers from misconceptions, which accentuate the distressing nature of the condition. In a press release, the company Boston Scientific, an expert in medical technologies, listed 5 inaccurate ideas about what patients experience themselves.
Parkinson’s disease is “only” a movement disorder
Fake. We tend to associate Parkinson’s disease with tremors. However, there are other non-motor symptoms that impact emotional well-being. Sleep disturbances, depression, and impact on cognitive abilities may also be associated with the disease.
People with Parkinson’s disease cannot continue to work
Again, this is false. Due to the progressive rate of progression of the disease and advances in medical management, more and more people with Parkinson’s disease can continue to work, supported by appropriate treatment and medication.
People with Parkinson’s disease can’t play sports
Still wrong. There are no instructions prohibiting the practice of a sport for people with Parkinson’s disease. On the contrary, sport can prove to be essential for maintaining motor functions. In fact, a study carried out in January 2023 demonstrated that gentle gymnastics increased functional connectivity and cognitive control in the brain regions responsible for planning, executing and controlling movements, and that it reduced global atrophy.
A person with Parkinson’s disease cannot drive
Inaccurate. Due to the progressive nature of the disease, some people with Parkinson’s may have to give up driving. However, because disease progression is usually slow, many people with the condition can continue driving for a long time with the help of the right equipment and medical treatment.
Drugs are the only effective treatment
It’s incomplete. If it is true that the disease itself cannot be cured, many treatment solutions are possible to treat the symptoms linked to the disease and thus improve the quality of life of people affected by this disease: drugs certainly, but also sport, again minimally invasive procedures (such as deep brain stimulation).