【Health and Welfare News】 The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (Director Lim Seung-gwan) and the National Institute of Health (Acting Director Kim Won-ho) produced and distributed the “Knowing Parkinson’s Disease” card news to increase public understanding of Parkinson’s disease, and released the major research results of the Parkinson’s disease cohort project on the 10th.
This card news includes the main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, treatments such as exercise therapy, and self-diagnosis methods using the ‘Dr. Parkinson’ app, and can be checked by anyone through the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency website.
■ “13.9% increase in patients over 4 years”… Patient volume expected to continue to increase due to aging population
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that occurs due to the gradual loss of dopamine neurons in the midbrain. In addition to motor symptoms such as tremors in the hands and feet, muscle stiffness, and gait disorders, it also appears with various non-motor symptoms such as decreased sense of smell, sleep disorders, autonomic nervous system abnormalities, and cognitive decline.
Over the past four years, the number of Parkinson’s disease patients in Korea has increased by about 13.9%. Considering the aging population, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency predicts that the number of patients will continue to increase in the future, and emphasized the need to strengthen research to develop early diagnosis, prognosis prediction technology, and treatment.
■ Building a Parkinson’s disease cohort… “Changes in olfactory function are a predictor of cognitive decline”
Starting in 2021, the National Institute of Health has established a cohort of Parkinson’s disease patients and is conducting long-term follow-up as part of the ‘Brain Disease Research Base Creation Research Project (BRIDGE)’. Through this, a variety of research is being conducted, including early diagnosis, disease prediction, and development of interventional treatment technologies.
In particular, recent research has confirmed that changes in olfactory function can be used as a key indicator to predict the rate of cognitive decline. Deterioration of cognitive function can be detected early through changes in the ability to distinguish or detect smells, and this is expected to be used to select patients at high risk of cognitive disorders such as dementia and develop customized treatment plans.
■ “Early diagnosis and systematic management are key”… Strengthening the development of precision diagnosis technology
Lim Seung-kwan, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, “Parkinson’s disease is a representative neurodegenerative disease that is rapidly increasing in the aging society, and early diagnosis and systematic management are of the utmost importance.” He added, “The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency is focusing on identifying the cause of the disease and developing precise diagnosis technology through a cohort of Parkinson’s disease patients and intervention research.”
He added, “We will continue to do our best to lead to practical research results that patients and their families can feel.”
