Parkinson’s disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease, affecting over 10 million people worldwide. As there is currently no cure for Parkinson’s, it’s important to find ways to better understand the condition, which can be done with early diagnosis. While Parkinson’s symptoms include tremors and muscle stiffness, lesser-known symptoms can make it easy to dismiss – just ask Ryan Reynolds, whose father experienced lesser-known symptoms of the disease, including hallucinations and delusions.
Ryan Reynolds: My Father Experienced Unique Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
In an intimate interview with People, Reynolds admitted that he and his late father had a complicated relationship, and this was further exacerbated by his father’s lesser-known Parkinson’s symptoms – hallucinations and delusions,
“At the time I just thought, “My dad’s losing his mind.” My father was slipping down a rabbit hole where he was struggling to differentiate between reality and fiction.”
Reynolds adds that these symptoms destabilized his relationship with his father because he was unaware of what was happening.
Parkinson’s Psychosis
Most people are familiar with the physical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, like tremors and slow muscle movement. Yet the reality is that Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder, and cognitive symptoms often manifest before any physical ones.
“The symptoms that precede the motor symptoms and the things that we see in a person with Parkinson’s when we examine them have sometimes been present for years beforehand, but we’re not really able to conclude that they are related to a future diagnosis of Parkinson’s,” explained David Charles, MD, a Professor and Vice-Chair of Neurology at Vanderbilt Medical Center, to Healthline.
According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 20% to 40% of people with Parkinson’s will experience some form of psychosis during the early stages of the disease. Known as Parkinson’s psychosis, it comprises a spectrum of illusions, hallucinations, and delusions. As the disease progresses, around 70% of those with the condition will experience psychosis. Risk factors for Parkinson’s psychosis include dementia or impaired memory, depression, older age, sleep disorders, advanced or late-stage Parkinson’s disease and impaired vision.
This psychosis is usually triggered by three main factors;
- Medication: Parkinson’s disease medications may inadvertently cause serious emotional and behavioral changes.
- Dementia: People with Parkinson’s disease can develop dementia.
- Delirium: A reversible change in one’s level of attention and concentration, and often caused by infections, electrolyte imbalance, fevers, or heart and liver disease.
“These symptoms fall under the non-movement symptom category,” said Emile Moukheiber, MD, an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to Healthline, “They are common and can be more troublesome and disabling at times than the movement symptoms.”
Delusions
Among people with Parkinson’s disease, delusions are quite uncommon, affecting 8% of people with the condition. Nonetheless, they are probably the hardest to treat, as they are rooted in paranoia, an irrational view of reality. This can lead to jealous and persecutory feelings. Unfortunately, these thoughts and feelings can lead to aggressive, agitated and dangerous behavior as the person may feel threatened.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations are when an individual sees, hears, feels, smells, or even tastes something that is not actually there. These are typically side effects of medications. Some of these hallucinations can be seen as threatening, causing the individual to attempt to defend themselves.
Illusions
Unlike hallucinations and delusions, illusions are real, except the individual misinterprets them as something else. For instance, they may view a pile of clothes on the floor as a big dog.
Treating Parkinson’s Psychosis
Medication can often be the root cause of Parkinson’s psychosis. So, following an evaluation and diagnosis, the doctor may have to adjust the patient’s Parkinson’s medication and take it from there.
Parkinson’s symptoms to know
Yes, tremors and slow muscle movements are the “classic” signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. However, these typically occur once the disease has progressed. With that said, early symptoms of Parkinson’s that one needs to be aware of include:
- Decreased or loss of sense of smell
- Trouble sleeping
- Constipation
- Small, cramped handwriting
- Masked face
- Voice changes
- Stooped posture
“These symptoms can sometimes precede the movement symptoms classic of Parkinson’s by a decade or more. Others include increased anxiety and depressive symptoms that had not been present in younger years.” – Emile Moukheiber
Want to know more?
Experts have yet to confirm the causes of Parkinson’s. Yet, there are those who believe that head trauma may increase the risk. With the National Football League (NFL) season kicking off soon, one has to wonder if the head trauma associated with playing American football may increase one’s risk for this neurodegenerative disorder.
