The number of Parkinson's disease patients in Korea has increased by 50% over 10 years...Gachon University Gil Hospital Opens Multidisciplinary Parkinson's Center
Sep 01, 2025
Gachon University Gil Hospital (Hospital Director Kim Woo-kyung) will open a multidisciplinary Parkinson's center such as neurology, neurosurgery, rehabilitation medicine, and psychiatry and start customized treatment for Parkinson's disease patients.
The Parkinson's Center at Gachon University Gil Hospital provides multidisciplinary treatment with neurology and neurosurgery as the main focus. All medical staff related to treatment, including psychiatry, rehabilitation medicine, nuclear medicine, radiology, and pathology, put their heads together to find the best treatment method for patients.
In particular, the fast track is operated so that patients suspected of Parkinson's disease do not miss the timing of Parkinson's treatment. Many patients are accompanied by various chronic diseases in their old age, so it takes a considerable amount of time for Parkinson's disease to be suspected in the early stages, but after using primary and secondary medical institutions, it takes a considerable amount of time to visit a tertiary high-level general hospital. Parkinson's Center has established a consultation system with the medical department to make reservations for suspected patients, treat them as quickly as possible when visiting, and diagnose the patient's exact condition.
Professor Yang Hee-joon of the Department of Neurology said, `Since Parkinson's disease, one of the leading degenerative brain diseases, is treated in a way that slows the progress of the disease and relieves symptoms, the more it is detected early and starts treatment, the more it can slow down the progress and a positive treatment response can be expected", he explained the importance of early diagnosis.
Parkinson's Center conducts deep brain stimulation (DBS) under general anesthesia for patients who need surgical treatment. Deep brain stimulation is a surgical method that stimulates nerve cells deep in the brain with microscopic electrodes. Electrode wires are planted in the brain by drilling a small hole in the scalp, and at this time, the surgery is conducted with patients' consciousness in order to grasp the effect of the electrode wires in real time, so there are many fears that patients feel, including emotional pain.
Gachon University Gil Hospital is the second in Korea after Seoul National University Hospital in 2021, and it is reducing the burden on patients by performing minimally invasive deep brain stimulation under general anesthesia.
Gachon University Gil Hospital utilizes 'BIS (Bispecific Index)', a tool that can evaluate a patient's anesthesia level, and a special anesthetic method 'TIVA (Total Intrabenous Anesthesia)'. Using this, it can increase the accuracy of micro-electrode recording (MER)', which measures nerve activity when stimulating the target brain nerve nucleus after general anesthesia. It also significantly improves treatment outcomes for Parkinson's disease patients by setting accurate targets through BrainLab's latest navigation system and performing sophisticated deep brain stimulation based on them.
Professor Park Kwang-woo of neurosurgery explained, "Many patients hesitate due to fear of surgery, even though deep brain stimulation can improve symptoms, and deep brain stimulation under general anesthesia is a patient-friendly way to minimize emotional pain."
After Alzheimer's, neurodegenerative Parkinson's disease is a disease caused by a lack of dopamine due to the gradual loss of dopamine cells in a region called 'blackness' of the midbrain. Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters and is involved in areas such as exercise and emotion throughout the brain and other parts of the body. When dopamine is insufficient, exercise and non-exercise symptoms appear, and typical symptoms include slowing movement, difficult walking, increasing muscle tension, and shaking hands, feet, and jaws even when standing still.
The number of Parkinson's disease patients in Korea has increased by about 50% over the past decade. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of Parkinson's disease patients in Korea increased significantly from 84,333 in 2014 to 125,526 in 2023. In particular, 116,723 elderly patients aged 65 or older accounted for 93% of the total.
Although the cause of the outbreak is not clear, aging, environmental factors, and genetic factors are known to affect it. Parkinson's disease is the world's fastest-growing neurological disease, and some predict that it will more than double in the next 20 years.
Jang Dae-il, director of the Parkinson's Center at Gachon University Gil Hospital, said, `Parkinson can slow the progression of the disease if it is combined with drug treatment and rehabilitation based on accurate diagnosis in the early stages of the outbreak, and if surgery is required, it is a disease that can improve the quality of life through active treatment.
The Parkinson's Center at Gachon University Gil Hospital provides multidisciplinary treatment with neurology and neurosurgery as the main focus. All medical staff related to treatment, including psychiatry, rehabilitation medicine, nuclear medicine, radiology, and pathology, put their heads together to find the best treatment method for patients.
In particular, the fast track is operated so that patients suspected of Parkinson's disease do not miss the timing of Parkinson's treatment. Many patients are accompanied by various chronic diseases in their old age, so it takes a considerable amount of time for Parkinson's disease to be suspected in the early stages, but after using primary and secondary medical institutions, it takes a considerable amount of time to visit a tertiary high-level general hospital. Parkinson's Center has established a consultation system with the medical department to make reservations for suspected patients, treat them as quickly as possible when visiting, and diagnose the patient's exact condition.
Professor Yang Hee-joon of the Department of Neurology said, `Since Parkinson's disease, one of the leading degenerative brain diseases, is treated in a way that slows the progress of the disease and relieves symptoms, the more it is detected early and starts treatment, the more it can slow down the progress and a positive treatment response can be expected", he explained the importance of early diagnosis.
Parkinson's Center conducts deep brain stimulation (DBS) under general anesthesia for patients who need surgical treatment. Deep brain stimulation is a surgical method that stimulates nerve cells deep in the brain with microscopic electrodes. Electrode wires are planted in the brain by drilling a small hole in the scalp, and at this time, the surgery is conducted with patients' consciousness in order to grasp the effect of the electrode wires in real time, so there are many fears that patients feel, including emotional pain.
Gachon University Gil Hospital is the second in Korea after Seoul National University Hospital in 2021, and it is reducing the burden on patients by performing minimally invasive deep brain stimulation under general anesthesia.
Gachon University Gil Hospital utilizes 'BIS (Bispecific Index)', a tool that can evaluate a patient's anesthesia level, and a special anesthetic method 'TIVA (Total Intrabenous Anesthesia)'. Using this, it can increase the accuracy of micro-electrode recording (MER)', which measures nerve activity when stimulating the target brain nerve nucleus after general anesthesia. It also significantly improves treatment outcomes for Parkinson's disease patients by setting accurate targets through BrainLab's latest navigation system and performing sophisticated deep brain stimulation based on them.
Professor Park Kwang-woo of neurosurgery explained, "Many patients hesitate due to fear of surgery, even though deep brain stimulation can improve symptoms, and deep brain stimulation under general anesthesia is a patient-friendly way to minimize emotional pain."
After Alzheimer's, neurodegenerative Parkinson's disease is a disease caused by a lack of dopamine due to the gradual loss of dopamine cells in a region called 'blackness' of the midbrain. Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters and is involved in areas such as exercise and emotion throughout the brain and other parts of the body. When dopamine is insufficient, exercise and non-exercise symptoms appear, and typical symptoms include slowing movement, difficult walking, increasing muscle tension, and shaking hands, feet, and jaws even when standing still.
The number of Parkinson's disease patients in Korea has increased by about 50% over the past decade. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of Parkinson's disease patients in Korea increased significantly from 84,333 in 2014 to 125,526 in 2023. In particular, 116,723 elderly patients aged 65 or older accounted for 93% of the total.
Although the cause of the outbreak is not clear, aging, environmental factors, and genetic factors are known to affect it. Parkinson's disease is the world's fastest-growing neurological disease, and some predict that it will more than double in the next 20 years.
Jang Dae-il, director of the Parkinson's Center at Gachon University Gil Hospital, said, `Parkinson can slow the progression of the disease if it is combined with drug treatment and rehabilitation based on accurate diagnosis in the early stages of the outbreak, and if surgery is required, it is a disease that can improve the quality of life through active treatment.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
