Neurological diseases, sleep disorders and pain are surrounded by many myths and untruths that persist. We will dispel some of these misconceptions at this point:
Myth #1:
If you have Parkinson’s disease, you always become demented.
The truth: (Only) about a third of patients with Parkinson’s disease actually have dementia in more advanced stages – i.e. after many years of the disease. In the initial stages, these patients are also mentally clear and fully oriented.
Myth #2:
All people who snore have sleep apnea syndrome
The truth: 60 percent of the male population snores, but only 4 percent of all men suffer from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Snoring, on the other hand, also has many other causes and enhancers – e.B excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, sleeping in a supine position or taking certain medications.
Myth #3:
Restless legs are an indication of Parkinson’s disease
The truth: Both diseases are usually treated with dopamine agonists. In Parkinson’s disease, a higher dosage of dopamine agonists is administered than in restless legs syndrome. However, it is also true that people with Parkinson’s are slightly more likely to get restless legs in the course of the disease.
Myth #4:
All people with Parkinson’s tremble
The truth: A good two thirds of Parkinson’s patients have tremors as complaints, one third do not have these symptoms at all. In addition, the degree and moment of tremor are also very different. By the way, Parkinson’s patients with strongly dominant tremors have on average a slightly better prognosis for the course of the disease than people who hardly tremble.
Myth #5:
Many more women than men suffer from migraines
The truth: It is true that the predisposition to migraine is roughly equally distributed in women and men. However, migraines are two to three times more common in women for hormonal reasons at the age of about 20 to 50 years than in men.
