Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

BRIDGEWATER -- Parkinsons robs people of the ability to control their movements, but some patients in Beaver County are seeing big results from a physical therapy program designed to counteract the symptoms of the degenerative disease. While there is no cure for Parkinsons disease and little is known about the cause, experts know that people with the nervous system disorder have trouble with slowness of movement, and their movements are also small, said Dale Reckless, facility director of M-R-S Physical Therapy in Bridgewater. But the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Big (LSVT Big) therapy program, which Reckless brought to M-R-S and Beaver County earlier this year, is aimed at keeping peoples movements big and quick in order to counteract those symptoms. People with Parkinsons experience an internal queuing problem, so even if they are taking shuffling steps, their brains believe they are walking at a regular pace, Reckless explained. The idea behind LSVT Big, he said, is to overcompensate with big, bold exercises and essentially retrain the brain to get a persons movements back to normal. "Were helping the patients to think big but in the real sense theyre actually coming out to making normal movements, Reckless said. People with Parkinsons … Continue reading →

A week before, Mary Jane Lutton couldn't walk and bend to pick up something without falling over. But on this day at St. Luke's Physical Therapy office in Bethlehem, the 63-year-old walked confidently, bent, picked up a ball and kept moving forward. Even without the use of her cane. "Now I don't have to worry about it," says the Bethlehem Township resident. "They are helping me tremendously." Lutton, who has Parkinson's disease, has started to regain some mobility and speech clarity thanks to two new intensive therapy programs offered through St. Luke's University Hospital Network. Parkinson's is a chronic, progressive neurological disorder that affects nearly 1 million people in the United States. The disease primarily affects the person's ability to control normal movement and speech. There's no known cure for Parkinson's. Traditional treatments include medication and sometimes surgery. At St. Luke's, two new therapy programs LSVT BIG and LSVT LOUD as they are known take the approach of reprogramming the "smallness" of patients' movements and speech. A person with Parkinson's will move slowly, taking tiny steps (which can often lead to falls). But to them, that sluggish movement seems normal. A person with Parkinson's will also speak softly, sometimes barely … Continue reading →

Parkinson's Treatment: 10 Secrets on Vital Living Forum - Dr. Okun Interview Dr. Okun talks with Katie Dagenais on the Vital Living Forum show about Parkinson's disease and many things patients need to know that should not be "secrets... By: UF Health Center for Movement Disorders Neurorestoration … Continue reading →

By Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Aug. 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of complications when implanting deep brain stimulation devices in the brains of people with Parkinson's disease is no greater in older patients than younger ones, a new study shows. The treatment involves placing electrodes in specific parts of the brain. The new findings should ease concerns about using the devices in patients older than 75, the Duke University researchers said. They analyzed data from more than 1,750 Parkinson's patients who had the devices implanted between 2000 and 2009. Of those patients, 7.5 percent had at least one complication within 90 days of the surgery. Complications included wound infections, bleeding, pneumonia and pulmonary embolism. However, the overall risk of complications did not significantly increase with age, the researchers reported Aug. 25 in the journal JAMA Neurology. Older patients were more likely to develop pneumonia compared with younger patients. However, pneumonia is somewhat common among older people who have surgery, noted study senior author Dr. Nandan Lad, director of the Duke Neuro-Outcomes Lab in Durham, N.C. "Parkinson's disease is one of the most common movement disorders and it primarily afflicts older people," Lad said in a Duke news … Continue reading →

By Pat Hagan For The Daily Mail Published: 20:16 EST, 25 August 2014 | Updated: 05:26 EST, 26 August 2014 Secretary Sharon Blight was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at just 49 Secretary Sharon Blight initially put the numbness and tingling in her right hand and foot down to a tennis injury. 'I'd fractured my right collarbone after falling over on court 18 months before,' she recalls. Surgery and physiotherapy restored full movement to her arm and shoulder, and when she developed the numbness and tingling, she thought it was a trapped nerve. But then her physiotherapist noticed a slight tremor in her foot and recommended seeing a GP. 'My GP said it was probably nothing to worry about, but I should see a neurologist,' says Sharon, a married mother-of-two from Aldershot, Hampshire. But after ten minutes of examining her, the neurologist said he was almost certain Sharon had Parkinson's disease. 'I was in complete shock,' she says. 'I was only 49 and as far as I was concerned, Parkinson's was something that only affected the elderly and mainly men.' It's a common misperception, which will only have been cemented by recent announcements about celebrity patients. Here is the original post: … Continue reading →

Weintraub is the senior author of a study published this month in the journal Neurology. Using data from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative - a multicenter effort funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation and pharmaceutical companies - Weintraub's team studied patients from diagnosis to two years later. The database included 423 newly diagnosed Parkinson's patients, but only 96 who had been followed for two years. The study found that the Parkinson's patients were disproportionately likely to have depression, anxiety, and apathy when diagnosed and throughout the two-year period. Those who took drugs that increased the level of the neurotransmitter dopamine, commonly used to treat the disease, had a higher risk for impulse-control problems and sleepiness. Weintraub, who worked with researchers from the Philadelphia VA Medical Center and University Hospital Donostia in Spain, said other studies have connected the medications with impulse problems - Parkinson's patients are known to be at risk for compulsive gambling or spending - but this was the first to show that impulsiveness increased after treatment began. None of the untreated patients developed impulse-control problems, compared with 17 percent of the treated patients. The study did not look at whether the 21 percent of patients who … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 25-Aug-2014 Contact: Sarah Avery sarah.avery@duke.edu 919-660-1306 The JAMA Network Journals Bottom Line: Older patients with Parkinson disease (PD) who undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS) appear to have a 90-day complication risk similar to younger patients, suggesting that age alone should not be a primary factor for excluding patients as DBS candidates. Author: Michael R. DeLong, B.A., of the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and colleagues. Background: For patients with advanced PD who have involuntary movements, DBS has been found to be an effective treatment for reducing motor disability and improving quality of life. Recent studies suggest that DBS plus medical therapy is better than medical therapy alone for patients with PD and early motor complications. Most clinical studies have excluded patients older than 75 years of age, although no specific age cutoff has been set. How the Study was Conducted: The authors analyzed data from 1,757 patients who underwent DBS for PD from 2000 to 2009. The average age of the patients was 61 years; 582 patients (33.1 percent) were 65 years or older and 123 patients (7 percent) were 75 years or older. Results: Of the 1,757 patients, 132 (7.5 percent) had at least one … Continue reading →

Daniel Andrews talks with mother Cheri O'Connell. Photo: Getty Images/Graham Denholm Victorians with life-threatening conditions would be able to access medicinal marijuana without breaking the law if Labor is elected at November's state election. Labor wants to legalise cannabis oil for the treatment of conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma and Parkinson's Disease. Opposition leader Daniel Andrews said cannabis should be available for people who needed treatment in exceptional circumstances, but he ruled out legalising marijuana for recreational use. "In some cases, parents are forced to choose between breaking the law and watching their child suffer," Mr Andrews said. Advertisement "Children are in pain, families are suffering, people are living in fear, and outdated laws are getting in the way." The move follows public campaigns by Victorian families who have successfully treated their chronically ill children when other medicines have not worked. If elected in November, Labor will seek advice from the Victorian Law Reform Commission on the prescription, manufacture and distribution of medical cannabis. Labor will not legalise the smoking of marijuana for medical purposes. More here: Labor backs medical marijuana … Continue reading →

A diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is devastating and brings with it a steep learning curve. If climbed, patients say, life can be good. Amid speculation that a recent diagnosis of Parkinson's, or depression associated with it, might have been a cause for Robin Williams' suicide, local patients with the disease expressed dismay that it may have felt like a death sentence for the iconic actor-comedian. "It would be awfully sad, but we don't know," said Kirk Hall, who learned he had Parkinson's in 2008 at age 59. "When I was first diagnosed, I was really down about it, but you have very little information at that point." Parkinson's, a slowly progressive neurological disorder that disrupts movement, muscle control and balance, is known by many for its classic symptoms: tremors, slow motions, unsteady or shuffling gaits, erratic movements, slurred or soft speech, difficulty swallowing, and rigid limbs, neck and trunk. About 1 million Americans and an estimated 17,000 Coloradans have Parkinson's. It's not fatal but can reduce lifespan. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rate complications from the disease as the 14th leading cause of death in the United States. After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, … Continue reading →

AP Photo Billy Connolly and Pamela Stephenson arrive at the Moet British Independent Film Awards 2012. Comedy star Billy Connolly may have had Parkinson's disease for around 10 years before it was diagnosed, his wife says. Pamela Stephenson, 64, said that she had noticed her husband's hand shaking for many years, but assumed that he had just spent too long playing the banjo. Connolly, 71, has told how he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease on the same day. Now Stephenson has told BBC Radio 5 live in the UK that the star is "doing incredibly well". "He's been ill and it was a huge shock for him. For someone who's been healthy his whole life, to suddenly hear that he had two major problems in a week. He had cancer, he's got Parkinson's...." "But thank God his Parkinson's is so mild he will never really have the kind of symptoms that many people associate with Parkinson's, as far as we know." "He's probably had it for 10 years, so it's very, very slowly progressing... There are different strains of Parkinson's that I'm learning about." "I've actually noticed his hand shaking for many, many years... I used to … Continue reading →