What is Parkinson's disease? Why do my hands shake uncontrollably?

As we all know, the first symptom of Parkinson's disease is involuntary shaking of the hands, but what exactly is Parkinson's disease? Most people don't quite understand this. In fact, Parkinson's disease is a functional brain disease, nicknamed the "silent killer" because it attacks stealthily and progresses slowly.

1. What is Parkinson's disease that causes involuntary hand shaking?

Parkinson's disease is nicknamed the "silent killer". It has an insidious onset and slowly progresses. Most patients are middle-aged and elderly people. When many elderly people have symptoms such as trembling hands, slow walking, expressionless face, hunchback, etc., they easily ignore them as ordinary "geriatric diseases" and only go to the hospital for a check-up when they affect their lives.

Parkinson's disease has four typical symptoms: involuntary tremors of the limbs, muscle stiffness, difficulty in movement, and slow movements. For example, handwriting becomes smaller and smaller, and the face is expressionless, as if wearing a mask. The posture and gait are abnormal, the back is severely hunched, the person walks in small steps, cannot lift the legs and feet, walks unsteadily, has a panic gait, rushes forward, and often falls easily.

Among the four typical symptoms of Parkinson's disease, about 70% of patients have limb tremors as the first symptom, which often starts from the distal end of one limb, with involuntary tremors of two or three fingers, and gradually develops into involuntary tremors of the hands. If no other symptoms appear at this time, simple hand tremors will often be misdiagnosed.

Diseases that can be caused by hand tremors are not limited to Parkinson's disease. Essential tremor can also cause hand tremors, and hyperthyroidism is also a possibility. Through some relevant examinations, some diseases can be ruled out, such as hyperthyroidism. Therefore, when hand tremors occur, the diagnosis mainly involves differentiating between Parkinson's disease and essential tremor.

2. Parkinson's disease tremor should be distinguished from essential tremor

Resting tremor is a common symptom of Parkinson's disease. About 70% of patients have tremor as the first symptom, which often starts from the distal end of one upper limb. It appears or is obvious when the patient is at rest, decreases or stops during voluntary movement, worsens during mental stress, and disappears after falling asleep. The typical manifestation of resting tremor is a "pill-rolling" tremor with a frequency of 4 to 6 Hz. Some patients may have postural tremor.

The tremor in Parkinson's disease is rhythmic and can be distinguished from essential tremor disorder. Essential tremor, also known as primary tremor, is an autosomal dominant movement disorder with tremors or rhythmic movements of the head, face, jaw, tongue, arms and legs as the main symptoms. It usually starts with tremors in one hand and forearm and can gradually spread to the opposite side. Most patients have a family history.